THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Carleton  Shay 


GEORGE  EBERS. 


JOSHUA, 


A  BIBLICAL  PICTURE. 


By  GEORGE  EBERS, 

Author  of  "Uarda,"   "An  Egyptian  Princess,"   "Bride  of  the 

Nile"  "Burgomaster's  Wife,"  "Emperor,"  "Homo 

Mum,"  "Only  a  Word." 


KEW  YORK: 

A.  L.  BURT,  PUBLISHER. 


TT 


PREFACE. 


WHEN  in  the  course  of  last  winter  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  finish  this  book  and  occupied  myself  in 
giving  it  the  form  in  which  it  is  now  offered  to  the 
public,  I  constantly  bore  in  mind  the  dear  friend  to 
whom  I  always  intended  to  dedicate  it.  Now,  it  is 
my  sad  privilege  to  inscribe  it  only  to  the  Manes  of 
Gustav  Baur,  for,  but  a  few  months  since,  death 
snatched  him  away. 

Every  one  who  had  ever  come  into  close  commun- 
ion with  him  felt  his  death  as  an  unspeakably  bitter 
loss,  not  only  because  his  bright  and  cheerful  nature 
and  happy  wit  brought  light  to  the  soul  of  his 
friends ;  not  only  because  he  was  ready  from  the 
brimming  stores  of  his  abundant  knowledge  to  give 
freely  to  all  who  came  into  intellectual  contact  with 
him ;  but,  above  all,  because  the  warm  heart,  which 
beamed  through  his  eyes,  made  him  feel  the  joy  and 
sorrow  of  others  as  his  own,  and  throw  himself  into 
their  thoughts  and  feelings.  Till  my  latest  day  I 
can  never  forget  how,  in  these  latter  years,  infirm  in 
body  and  overwhelmed  with  the  work  of  a  professor 

and  a  member  of  the  Consistory,  he  would  still  con- 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

stantly  find  his  way  to  see  me,  his  yet  more  crippled 
friend.  The  hours  it  was  then  my  good  fortune  to 
spend  in  eager  conversation  with  him,  were  such  as 
we  a  write  down  good,"  to  quote  old  Horace,  Avhom 
he  knew  and  loved  so  well.  I  have  done  so ;  as  I 
gratefully  recall  them  my  friend's  voice  sounds  in 
my  ear  asking :  "  And  what  about  the  tale  of  the 
Exodus  ?  "  When  I  first  told  him  that  it  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  desert,  while  following  up  the  traces  of 
the  fugitive  Hebrews,  that  the  idea  had  occurred  to 
me  of  treating  their  wanderings  in  a  work  of  im- 
agination, he  expressed  his  approval  with  the  cap- 
tivating eagerness  which  was  characteristic  of  the 
man.  When,  then,  I  developed  the  idea  which  I 
had  first  sketched  riding  on  a  camel,  he  never  was 
weary  of  encouraging  me,  although  he  quite  under- 
stood my  hesitation  and  fully  recognized  the  diffi- 
culties which  surrounded  the  execution  of  my  task. 

This  book  then,  in  a  certain  sense,  is  his,  and  the 
fact  that  it  can  no  longer  be  offered  to  him  living, 
can  never  be  the  subject  of  his  subtle  judgment,  is 
one  of  the  sorrows  which  make  it  hard  to  accept 
with  a  good  grace  the  advancing  years,  which  other- 
wise have  brought  so  much  that  is  sweet. 

He,  who  was  one  of  the  most  famous,  clear-sighted 
and  learned  students  of  the  Bible  and  its  exegesis  of 
our  day,  was  familiar  with  all  the  critical  labors 
which  have  been  published  within  the  last  feAv  lustra 
in  the  field  of  Old  Testament  criticism.  He  took  up 
a  determined  attitude  against  the  views  of  a  younger 
school  who  endeavor  to  expunge  the  Exodus  of  the 


PREFACE.  5 

Israelites  from  the  page  of  history,  and  regard  it  as 
a  later  outcome  of  the  myth-forming  spirit  of  the 
people ;  a  theory  which  he,  like  myself,  regarded  as 
untenable.  One  of  his  sentences  on  this  question 
dwells  in  my  memory,  to  this  effect :  "  If  the  events 
recorded  in  the  Second  Book  of  Moses  really  never 
occurred — a  hypothesis  I  entirely  reject — then  no 
historical  event  entailing  equally  important  results 
need  have  happened  anywhere  or  at  any  time.  The 
story  of  the  Exodus  has,  for  thousands  of  years, 
survived  in  the  minds  of  numberless  human  beings 
as  a  real  event,  and  has  influenced  them  as  such. 
Hence  it  is  no  less  certainly  a  part  of  history,  than 
the  French  Ke volution  and  its  results." 

But  in  spite  of  such  encouragement,  for  many 
years  I  lacked  courage  to  bring  my  tale  of  the  Exo- 
dus to  a  conclusion,  till,  last  winter,  an  unexpected 
request  from  abroad  prompted  me  to  take  it  up  again. 
I  then  carried  it  through  without  interruption  and 
with  fresh  spirit,  and  I  may  say  with  rejuvenated 
delight  in  the  perilous  and  yet  fascinating  theme. 

The  locality  of  the  narrative,  the  scenery  in  which 
it  moves,  I  have  described  as  exactly  as  possible 
from  that  which  I  saw  in  Goshen  and  the  Sinaitic 
peninsula,  and  it  will  answer  to  the  preconceptions 
of  many  a  reader  of  "  Joshua."  With  regard  to 
those  parts  of  the  story  which  I  have  introduced  on 
the  ground  of  ancient  Egyptian  lore  it  will  be 
different.  They  will  surprise  the  novice,  for  few 
perhaps  have  ever  reflected  as  to  how  the  events 
related  in  the  Bible  from  the  Jewish  point  of  view, 


6  PREFACE. 

may  have  affected  the  Egyptians ;  or  what  the  polit- 
ical condition  of  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  may 
have  been  when  they  bid  the  Israelites  depart.  I 
have  endeavored  to  depict  these  thing  as  truly  as 
possible  from  the  monumental  records.  For  the 
portraits  of  the  Hebrews  mentioned  in  Scripture  the 
Bible  is  the  best  authority,  and  the  character  of  the 
Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus  is  also  pain  ted  from  the  Bible 
narrative ;  it  agrees  very  remarkably  with  the  remain- 
ing pictures  of  the  weak  King  Menephtah.  From 
the  history  of  a  somewhat  later  period  I  have 
borrowed  and  introduced  the  conspiracy  of  Sipath ; 
the  accession  of  Seti  II.  and  the  person  of  Aarsu  the 
Syrian,  who,  according  to  the  Harris  Papyrus,  No. 
I.  (London)  seized  the  reins  of  government  after 
Siptah  had  been  proclaimed  king. 

Monsieur  Naville's  excavations  have  left  no  doubts 
as  to  the  position  of  Pithom,  or  Succoth.  They 
brought  to  light  the  fortified  Storehouse  of  Pithom 
mentioned  in  the  Bible ;  and  as  the  narrative  tells  us 
that  the  Israelites  rested  there,  and  then  set  forth 
again,  it  must  be  assumed  that  they  conquered  the 
garrison  of  the  building  and  took  possession  of  the 
contents  of  the  vast  granaries  which  may  be  seen  at 
this  day. 

In  my  work,  published  so  long  ago  as  1868,*  I 
already  pointed  out  that  the  Etham  of  the  Bible  was 
identical  with  the  Egyptian  Khetam,  that  is  to  say, 
the  line  of  fortresses  which  protected  the  isthmus  of 

*Egypten  und  die  Biicher  Hose's.  Leipzig,  W.  Engel- 
mann. 


PREFACE.  7 

Suez  from  the  attacks  of  the  peoples  of  the  East, 
and  my  opinion  has  long  since  been  generally  accept- 
ed. It  fully  explains  the  return  of  the  wanderers 
from  Etham. 

The  mount  of  the  Lawgiving  is,  to  me,  the  majes- 
tic peak  of  Serbal,  not  the  Sinai  of  the  monks  ;  my 
reasons  are  fully  explained  in  my  work  on  Sinai. * 
I  have  also  endeavored  in  the  same  book  to  show 
that  the  resting-place  called  in  the  Bible  Dophkah, 
is  identical  with  the  abandoned  mines  now  called 
"Wadi  Maghara. 

The  writer  has  endeavored  by  means  of  the  actors 
in  his  tale,  their  adventures  and  reflections — in  part 
the  invention  of  his  own  fancy — to  make  the  mighty 
destinies  of  the  people  he  has  attempted  to  describe 
more  humanly  real  to  the  sympathetic  reader.  If  he 
has  succeeded  in  this,  without  seeming  to  dwarf  the 
splendid  narrative  of  the  Bible,  he  has  attained  his 
end ;  if  he  has  failed,  he  must  rest  content  with  the 
pleasure  and  personal  exaltation  he  has  enjoyed  while 
composing  the  work. 

TUTZING  am  Starnberger  See.    September  1889. 

GEORG  EBEKS. 

*  Durch  Gosen  nach  Sinai.  Leipzig,  W.  Engelmann.  2. 
Auflage  1882. 


JOSHUA. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

"  Go  down,  grandfather.     I  will  keep  watch." 

But  the  old  man  to  whom  the  words  were  spoken 
shook  his  shaven  head. 

"  But  up  here  you  will  get  no  rest." 

"  And  the  stars  ?  Or  even  below ;  rest,  in  such 
times  as  these  ?  Throw  my  cloak  over  me.  Rest, 
in  such  a  fearful  night !  " 

"  You  are  so  cold  ;  and  your  hand  and  the  instru 
ment  shake." 

"  Then  steady  my  arm." 

The  lad  willingly  obeyed  the  request ;  but  after 
a  short  space  he  exclaimed  :  "  It  is  all  in  vain.  Star 
after  star  is  swallowed  up  in  black  clouds.  Ah,  and 
the  bitter  cry  of  the  city  comes  up.  Nay,  it  comes 
from  our  own  house.  I  am  sick  at  heart,  grandfather ; 
only  feel  how  hot  my  head  is.  Come  down,  per- 
chance they  need  help." 

"  That  is  in  the  hands  of  the  gods,  and  my  place 

is  here.    But  there,  there !  Eternal  gods !     Look  to 

9 


10  JOSHUA. 

the  north  across  the  lake !  No,  more  to  the  west- 
ward. They  come  from  the  city  of  the  dead  ! " 

"  Oh,  grandfather,  father,  there ! "  cried  the  youth, 
a  priestly  neophyte,  who  was  lending  his  aid  to  an 
elder,  his  grandfather,  the  chief  astrologer  of  Amon- 
Ea. 

They  were  standing  on  the  watch  tower  of  the 
temple  of  the  god  of  Tanis,  the  capital  of  the  Pha- 
raohs, in  the  north  of  the  land  of  Goshen.  As  he 
spoke  he  drew  away  his  shoulder  on  which  the  old 
man  was  leaning.  "  There,  there  !  Is  the  sea  swal- 
lowing up  the  land  ?  Have  the  clouds  fallen  on  the 
earth  to  surge  to  and  fro !  Oh,  grandfather,  may 
the  immortals  have  mercy !  the  nether  world  is 
yawning !  The  great  serpent  Apep  is  come  forth 
from  the  city  of  the  dead  !  It  comes  rolling  past 
the  temple.  I  see  it,  I  hear  it !  The  great  Hebrew's 
threat  is  being  fulfilled  !  Our  race  will  be  cut  off 
from  the  earth.  The  serpent !  Its  head  is  set  to 
ward  the  south-east.  It  will  surely  swallow  up  the 
young  sun  when  it  rises  in  the  morning !  " 

The  old  man's  eye  followed  the  direction  of  the 
youth's  finger,  and  he,  too,  could  discern  that  a  vast, 
black  mass,  whose  outline  was  lost  in  the  darkness, 
came  rolling  through  the  gloom,  and  he,  too,  heard 
with  a  shudder  the  creature's  low  roar. 

Both  stood  with  eye  and  ear  alert,  staring  into 
the  night ;  but  the  star-gazer's  eye  was  fixed  not  up- 
ward, but  down,  across  the  city  to  the  distant  sea 
and  level  plain.  Overhead  all  was  silent,  and  yet 
not  all  at  rest,  for  the  wind  swept  the  dark  clouds 


JOSHUA.  II 

into  shapeless  masses  in  one  place,  while  in  another 
it  rent  the  gray  shroud  and  scattered  them  far  and 
wide. 

The  moon  was  not  visible  to  mortal  ken,  but  the 
clouds  played  hide  and  seek  with  the  bright  South- 
ern stars,  now  covering  them,  and  now  giving  their 
rays  free  passage.  And  as  in  the  firmament,  so  on 
earth  there  was  a  constant  change  from  pallid  light 
to  blackest  darkness.  Now  the  glitter  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  flashed  brightly  down  on  the  sea 
and  estuary,  on  the  polished  granite  sides  of  the 
obelisks  in  the  temple  precincts,  and  the  gilt  copper 
roof  of  the  King's  airy  palace  ;  and  again,  lake  and 
river,  the  sails  in  the  harbor,  the  sanctuaries  and 
streets  of  the  city,  and  the  palm-strewn  plain  sur- 
rounding it,  were  all  lost  in  gloom. 

Objects  which  the  eye  tried  to  rest  on  vanished 
in  an  instant,  and  it  was  the  same  with  the  sounds 
that  met  the  ear.  For  a  while  the  silence  would  be 
as  deep  as  though  all  life,  far  and  near,  were  hushed 
or  dead,  and  then  a  piercing  shriek  of  woe  rent  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  And  then,  broken  by  longer 
or  shorter  pauses,  that  roar  was  heard  which  the 
youthful  priest  had  taken  for  the  voice  of  the  ser- 
pent of  the  nether  world  ;  and  to  that  the  grand- 
father and  grandson  listened  with  growing  excite- 
ment. 

The  dusky  shape,  whose  ceaseless  movements 
could  be  clearly  made  out  whenever  the  stars  shot 
their  beams  between  the  striving  clouds,  had  its  be- 
ginning out  by  the  city  of  the  dead  and  the  strangers' 


12  JOSHUA. 

quarter.  A  sudden  panic  had  fallen  on  the  old  man 
as  on  the  young  one ;  but  he  was  quicker  to  re- 
cover himself,  and  his  keen  and  practised  eye  soon 
discerned  that  it  was  not  a  single  gigantic  form 
which  was  rising  from  the  necropolis  to  cross  the 
plain,  but  a  multitude  of  moving  creatures  who 
seemed  to  be  surging  or  swaying  to  and  fro  on  the 
meadow-land.  Nor  did  the  hollow  hum  and  wail- 
ing come  up  from  one  particular  spot,  but  was  audi- 
ble now  nearer  and  now  more  remote.  Anon  he 
fancied  that  it  was  rising  from  the  bosom  of  the 
earth,  and  then  again  that  it  fell  from  some  airy 
height. 

Fresh  terror  came  upon  the  old  astrologer.  He 
seized  his  grandson's  wrist  in  his  right  hand,  and 
pointing  with  his  left  to  the  city  of  the  dead,  he  cried 
in  a  trembling  voice :  "  The  dead  are  too  many  in 
number.  The  nether  world  overflows,  as  the  river 
does  when  its  bed  is  too  narrow  for  the  waters  of 
the  south.  Plow  they  swarm  and  sway  and  surge 
on !  How  they  part,  hither  and  thither.  These  are 
the  ghosts  of  the  thousands  whom  black  death  hath 
snatched  away,  blasted  by  the  Hebrew's  curse,  and 
sent  unburied,  unprotected  from  corruption,  to  de- 
scend the  rungs  of  the  ladder  which  leads  to  the 
world  without  end." 

"  Yea,  it  is  they  !  "  cried  the  other,  in  full  belief. 
He  snatched  his  hand  from  the  old  man's  grasp  and 
struck  his  fevered  and  burning  brow,  exclaiming, 
though  hardly  able  to  speak  for  terror :  "  They — 
the  damned !  The  wind  has  blown  them  to  the  sea, 


JOSHUA.  13 

and  its  waters  spew  them  out  and  cast  them  on  the 
land  again,  and  the  blessed  earth  rejects  them 
and  drives  them  into  the  air.  The  pure  ether  of 
Shoo  flings  them  back  to  the  ground,  and  now— look, 
listen !  They  are  groaning  as  they  seek  the  way  to 
the  desert." 

"  To  the  fire  ! "  cried  the  elder.  "  Flame  purify 
them  ;  water  cleanse  them  !  " 

The  youth  joined  in  the  old  priest's  form  of  ex- 
orcism, and  while  they  chanted  it  in  unison  the  trap 
door  was  lifted  Avhich  led  to  this  observatory  on  the 
top  of  the  highest  gate  of  the  temple,  and  a  priest  of 
humble  grade  cried  to  the  old  man  : 

"  Cease  thy  labors.  Who  cares  now  for  the  stars 
of  heaven  when  all  that  has  life  is  being  darkened 
on  earth  ? " 

The  old  priest  listened  speechless  till  the  messen- 
ger went  on  to  say  that  it  was  the  astrologer's  wife 
who  had  sent  for  him,  and  then  he  gasped  out  : 

"  Hora  ?    Is  my  son  then  likewise  stricken  ? " 

The  priest  bent  his  head,  and  both  his  hearers 
wept  bitterly,  for  the  old  man  was  bereft  of  his  first- 
born son,  and  the  lad  of  a  tender  father. 

But  when  the  boy,  trembling  with  fever,  fell  sick 
and  sorrowing  on  his  grandfather's  breast,  the  elder 
hastily  freed  himself  from  his  embrace  and  went  to 
the  trap  door  ;  for  although  the  priest  had  an- 
nounced himself  as  the  messenger  of  death,  it  needs 
more  than  the  bare  word  of  another  to  persuade  a 
father  to  give  up  all  hope  of  life  for  his  child.  The 
old  man  went  quickly  down  the  stone  stairs,  through 


14  JOSHUA. 

the  lofty  halls  and  wide  courts  of  the  temple,  and 
the  lad  followed  him,  although  his  shaking  knees 
could  scarcely  carry  his  fevered  frame.  The  blow 
which  had  fallen  within  his  own  little  circle  had 
made  the  old  man  forget  the  fearful  portent  which 
threatened  the  whole  world  perhaps  with  ruin  ;-but 
the  boy  could  not  get  rid  of  the  vision,  so  when  he 
had  passed  the  first  court  and  was  in  sight  of  the 
outermost  pylons,  to  his  terrified  and  anxious  soul 
it  seemed  as  though  the  shadows  of  the  obelisks  were 
spinning  round,  while  the  two  stone  statues  of  King 
Kameses  on  the  corner  piers  of  the  great  gate  beat 
time  with  the  crook  in  his  hand. 

At  this  the  lad  dropped  fever-stricken  on  the 
ground.  A  convulsion  distorted  his  features  and 
tossed  his  slender  frame  to  and  fro  in  frantic  spasms ; 
and  the  old  man,  falling  on  his  knees,  while  he 
guarded  the  curly  head  from  striking  the  hard  stone 
flags,  moaned  in  a  low  voice  :  "  Now  it  has  fallen 
on  him  ! " 

Suddenly  he  collected  himself  and  shouted  aloud 
for  help,  but  in  vain,  and  again  in  vain.  At  last  his 
voice  fell ;  he  sought  consolation  in  prayer.  Then 
he  heard  a  sound  of  voices  from  the  avenue  of 
sphinxes  leading  to  the  great  gate,  and  new  hope 
revived  in  his  heart. 

Who  could  it  be  who  was  arriving  at  so  late  an 
hour  ? 

Mingled  with  cries  of  grief,  the  chanting  of  priests 
fell  on  his  ear,  the  tinkle  and  clatter  of  the  metal 
sistrum  shaken  by  holy  women  in  honor  of  the  god, 


JOSHUA.  15 

and  the  measured  footfall  of  men,  praying  as  they 
marched  on. 

A  solemn  procession  was  approaching.  The  as- 
trologer raised  his  eyes,  and  after  glancing  at  the 
double  line  of  granite  columns,  colossal  statues  and 
obelisks  in  the  great  court,  looked  up,  in  obedience 
to  the  habits  of  a  lifetime,  at  the  starry  heavens 
above,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  woe  a  bitter  smile 
parted  his  sunken  lips,  for  the  gods  this  night  lacked 
the  honors  that  were  their  due. 

For  on  this  night — the  first  after  the  new  moon 
in  the  month  of  Pharmutee — the  sanctuary  in  for- 
mer years  was  wont  to  be  gay  with  garlands  of 
flowers.  At  the  dawn  of  day  after  this  moonless 
night  the  high  festival  of  the  spring  equinox  should 
begin,  and  with  it  the  harvest  thanksgiving. 

At  this  time  a  grand  procession  marched  through 
the  city  to  the  river  and  harbor,  as  prescribed  by 
the  Book  of  the  Divine  Birth  of  the  Sun,  in  honor 
of  the  great  goddess  Neith,  of  Rennout,  who  bestows 
the  gifts  of  the  field,  and  of  Horus,  at  whose  bidding 
the  desert  blooms ;  but  to-day  the  silence  of  death 
reigned  in  the  sanctuary,  whose  courtyard  should 
have  been  crowded  at  this  hour  Avith  men,  women 
and  children,  bringing  offerings  to  lay  on  the  very 
spot  where  his  grandson  lay  under  the  hand  of  death. 

A  broad  beam  of  light  suddenly  fell  into  the  vast 
court,  which  till  now  had  been  but  dimly  lighted  by 
a  few  lamps.  Could  they  be  so  mad  as  to  think  that 
the  glad  festival  might  be  held  in  spite  of  the  name- 
less horrors  of  the  past  night  ? 


l6  JOSHUA. 

Only  the  evening  before,  the  priests  in  council  had 
determined  that  during  this  pitiless  pestilence  the 
temples  were  to  be  left  unadorned  and  processions 
to  be  prohibited.  By  noon  yesterday  many  had 
failed  to  attend,  because  the  plague  had  fallen  on 
their  households,  and  the  terror  had  now  come  into 
this  very  sanctuary,  while  he,  who  could  read  the 
stars,  had  been  watching  them  in  their  courses. 
"Why  else  should  it  have  been  deserted  by  the  watch- 
men and  other  astrologers,  who  had  been  with  him 
at  sunset,  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  vigil  here 
all  night  ? 

He  turned  once  more  to  the  suffering  boy  with 
tender  anxiety,  but  instantly  started  to  his  feet,  for 
the  gates  were  open  wide  and  the  light  of  torches 
and  lanterns  poured  into  the  temple  court.  A  glance 
at  the  sky  showed  him  that  it  was  not  long  past 
midnight,  and  yet  his  fears  were  surely  well  grounded 
— these  must  be  the  priests  crowding  into  the  tem- 
ple to  prepare  for  the  harvest  festival. 

Not  so. 

For  when  had  they  come  to  the  sanctuary  for 
this  purpose  chanting  and  in  procession  ?  Nor  were 
these  all  servants  of  the  divinity.  The  populace 
had  joined  them.  In  that  solemn  litany  he  could 
hear  the  shrill  wailing  of  women  mingled  with  wild 
cries  of  despair  such  as  he  had  never  before,  in  the 
course  of  a  long  life,  heard  within  these  consecrated 
walls. 

Or  did  his  senses  deceive  him  ?  "Was  it  the  groan- 
ing horde  of  unresting  souls  which  he  had  seen  from 


JOSHUA.  I/ 

the  observatory  who  were  crowding  into  the  sanct- 
uary of  the  god  ? 

Fresh  horror  fell  upon  him  ;  he  threw  up  his  arms 
in  prohibition  and  for  a  few  moments  repeated  the 
formula  against  the  malice  of  evil  spirits ;  but  he 
presently  dropped  his  hands,  for  he  marked  among 
the  throng  some  friends  who  yesterday,  at  any  rate, 
had  been  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Foremost,  the 
tall  figure  of  the  second  prophet  of  the  god,  then  the 
women  devoted  to  the  service  of  Amon-Ra,  the  sing- 
ers and  the  holy  fathers,  and  when  at  last,  behind 
the  astrologers  and  pastophoroi,  he  saw  his  son-in- 
law,  whose  home  had  till  yesterday  been  spared  by 
the  plague,  he  took  heart  and  spoke  to  him.  But 
his  voice  was  drowned  by  the  song  and  cries  of  the 
coming  multitude. 

The  courtyard  was  now  fully  lighted ;  but  every 
one  was  so  absorbed  in  his  own  sorrow  that  no  one 
heeded  the  old  astrologer.  He  snatched  the  cloak 
off  his  own  shivering  body  to  make  a  better  pillow 
for  the  boy's  tossing  head,  and  while  he  did  so  with 
fatherly  care,  he  could  hear  among  the  chanting  and 
wailing  of  the  approaching  crowd,  first,  frantic 
curses  on  the  Hebrews,  through  whom  these  woes 
had  fallen  on  Pharaoh  and  his  people,  and  then, 
again  and  again,  the  name  of  the  heir  to  the  crown, 
Prince  Rameses,  and  the  tone  in  which  it  was 
spoken,  and  the  formulas  of  mourning  which  were 
added,  announced  to  all  who  had  ears  to  hear  that 
the  eyes  of  the  first-born  of  the  King  on  his  throne 

were  also  sealed  in  death. 
2 


1 8  JOSHUA. 

As  he  gazed  with  growing  anguish  in  his  grand- 
son's pale  face  the  lamentations  for  the  prince 
rang  out  afresh  and  louder  than  ever,  and  a  faint 
sense  of  satisfaction  crept  into  his  soul  at  the  im- 
partiality of  death,  who  spared  not  the  sovereign 
on  his  throne  any  more  than  the  beggar  by  the 
wayside. 

He  knew  now  what  had  brought  this  noisy  throng 
to  the  sanctuary. 

He  went  forward  with  such  haste  as  his  old  limbs 
would  allow  to  meet  the  column  of  mourners,  but 
before  he  could  join  them  he  saw  the  gatekeeper 
and  his  wife  come  out  of  the  gatehouse,  bearing  be- 
tween them  on  a  mat  the  corpse  of  a  boy.  The  hus- 
band held  one  end,  his  frail,  tiny  wife  held  the  other, 
and  the  stalwart  man  had  to  stoop  low  to  keep 
their  stiff  burden  in  a  horizontal  position  that  it 
might  not  slip  down  toward  the  woman.  Three 
children  closed  the  melancholy  party,  and  a  little 
girl  holding  a  lantern  led  the  way. 

Ko  one,  perhaps,  would  have  observed  them  but 
that  the  gatekeeper's  wife  shrieked  forth  her  griefs 
so  loudly  and  shrilly  that  it  was  impossible  not  to 
hear  her  cries.  Then  at  length  the  second  prophet 
of  Amon  and  his  companions  turned  about ;  the  pro- 
cession came  to  a  standstill,  and,  as  some  of  the 
priests  went  nearer  to  the  body,  the  father  cried 
in  a  loud  voice :  "  Away,  away  from  the  plague- 
stricken  !  Our  first-born  is  dead  ! " 

The  mother,  meanwhile,  had  snatched  the  lantern 
from  her  little  daughter,  and  holding  it  so  as  to 


JOSHUA.  19 

throw  a  light  on  the  rigid  face  of  the  dead  boy,  she 
shrieked  out  : 

"  The  god  hath  suffered  it  to  come  to  pass.  Yea, 
even  under  our  own  roof.  But  it  is  not  his  will,  but 
the  curse  of  the  stranger  in  the  land  that  has  come 
over  us  and  our  Jives.  Behold,  this  was  our  first- 
born ;  and  two  temple  servants  have  likewise  been 
taken.  One  is  dead  already  ;  he  is  lying  in  our  little 
room  yonder;  and  there — see,  there  lies  young 
Ramus,  the  grandson  of  Rameri,  the  star-reader. 
We  heard  the  old  man  calling,  and  saw  what  was 
happening,  but  who  can  hold  another  man's  house 
up  when  his  own  is  falling  about  his  ears  ?  Beware 
while  it  is  yet  time,  for  the  gods  have  opened  even 
the  temple  gates  to  the  abomination,  and  if  the 
whole  world  should  perish  I  should  not  be  surprised 
and  never  complain — certainly  not.  My  lords  and 
priests,  I  am  but  a  poor  and  humble  woman,  but 
am  I  not  in  the  right,  when  I  ask  :  Are  our  gods 
asleep,  that  a  magic  spell  has  bound  them?  Or 
what  are  they  doing,  and  where  are  they,  that  they 
leave  us  and  our  children  in  the  power  of  the  vile 
Hebrew  race  ? " 

"  Down  with  them  !  Down  with  the  strangers  ! 
They  are  magicians ;  into  the  sea  with  Mesu,*  the 
sorcerer ! " 

As  an  echo  follows  a  cry,  so  did  these  impreca- 
tions follow  the  woman's  curse,  and  Hornecht,  the 
old  astrologer's  son-in-law,  captain  of  the  archers, 
whose  blood  boiled  over  at  the  sight  of  his  dying, 
*  Mesu  is  the  Egyptian  form  of  Moses. 


2O  JOSHUA. 

fair  young  nephew,  brandished  his  short  sword,  and 
cried  in  a  frenzy  of  rage :  "  Follow  me,  every  man 
who  has  a  heart !  At  them  !  Life  for  Life !  Ten 
Hebrews  for  each  Egyptian  whom  their  sorcerer  has 
killed ! " 

As  a  flock  will  rush  into  the  fire  if  only  the  ram 
leads  the  way,  the  crowd  flocked  to  follow  the  noble 
warrior.  The  women  pushed  in  front  of  the  men, 
thronging  the  doorway,  and  as  the  servants  of  the 
sanctuary  hesitated  till  they  should  know  the  opinion 
of  the  prophet  of  Amon,  their  leader  threw  up  his 
majestic  figure,  and  said  deliberately  : 

"  All  who  wear  priests'  robes  remain  to  pray  with 
me.  The  people  are  the  instrument  of  heaven,  and 
it  is  theirs  to  repay.  We  stay  here  to  pray  for 
success  to  their  vengeance." 


JOSHUA.  21 


CHAPTER   II. 

BAIE,  the  second  prophet  of  Amon,  who  acted  as 
deputy  for  the  now  infirm  old  head-prophet  and 
high-priest  Ruie,  withdrew  into  the  holy  of  holies, 
and  while  the  multitude  of  the  inferior  ministers  of 
the  god  proceeded  to  their  various  duties,  the  in- 
furiated crowd  hurried  through  the  streets  of  the 
town  to  the  strangers'  quarter. 

As  a  swollen  torrent  raging  through  a  valley 
carries  down  with  it  everything  in  its  way,  so  the 
throng,  as  they  rushed  to  their  revenge,  compelled 
every  one  on  their  way  to  join  them.  Every  Egyp- 
tian from  whom  death  had  snatched  his  nearest  and 
dearest  was  ready  to  join  the  swelling  tide,  and  it 
grew  till  it  numbered  hundreds  of  thousands.  Men, 
women  and  children,  slaves  and  free,  borne  on  the 
wings  of  their  desire  to  wreak  ruin  and  death  on 
the  detested  Hebrews,  flew  to  the  distant  quarter 
where  they  dwelt. 

How  this  artisan  had  laid  hold  of  a  chopper  or 
that  housewife  had  clutched  an  axe  they  themselves 
scarcely  knew.  They  rushed  on  to  kill  and  destroy, 
and  they  had  not  sought  the  weapons  they  needed ; 
they  had  found  them  ready  to  their  hand. 

The  first  they  hoped  to  fall  upon  in  their  mad 


22  JOSHUA. 

fury  was  Nun,  a  venerable  Hebrew,  respected  and 
beloved  by  many — a  man  rich  in  herds,  who  had 
done  much  kindness  to  the  Egyptians  ;  but  where 
hatred  and  revenge  make  themselves  heard  gratitude 
stands  shy  and  speechless  in  the  background. 

His  large  estates  lay,  like  the  houses  and  huts 
of  the  men  of  his  race,  to  the  west  of  Tanis,  the 
strangers'  quarter,  and  were  the  nearest  of  them 
all  to  the  streets  inhabited  by  the  Egyptians  them- 
selves. 

At  this  morning  hour  Nun's  flocks  and  herds  were 
wont  to  be  taken,  first  to  water,  and  then  to  the 
pasture;  so  the  large  yard  in  front  of  his  house 
would  be  full  of  cattle,  farm  men  and  women,  carts 
and  field  implements.  The  owner  himself  commonly 
ordered  the  going  of  his  beasts,  and  he  and  his  were 
to  be  the  first  victims  of  the  popular  rage. 

The  swiftest  runners  had  already  reached  his 
spacious  farm,  and  among  them  Hornecht,  the  cap- 
tain of  the  archers.  There  lay  the  house  and  build- 
ings in  the  first  bright  beams  of  the  morning  sun, 
and  a  brawny  smith  kicked  violently  at  the  closed 
door ;  but  there  was  no  bolt,  and  it  flew  open  so 
readily  that  he  had  to  clutch  at  the  door  post  to 
save  himself  from  falling.  Others  pushed  by  him 
into  the  courtyard,  among  them  the  archer  chief. 

But  what  was  the  meaning  of  this  ? 

Had  some  new  charm  been  wrought  to  show  the 
power  of  Mesu,  who  had  brought  such  terrible 
plagues  already  on  the  land,  and  to  display  the 
might  of  his  god  ? 


JOSHUA.  23 

The  yard  was  empty,  absolutely  empty ;  only  in 
their  stalls  lay  a  few  cattle  and  sheep,  slain  because 
they  had  suffered  some  injury,  while  a  lame  lamb 
hobbled  away  at  the  sight  of  the  intruders.  Even 
the  carts  and  barrows  had  vanished.  The  groaning 
and  bleating  crowd,  which  the  star-gazer  had  taken 
to  be  the  spirits  of  the  damned,  was  the  host  of  the 
Hebrews,  who  had  fled  by  night  with  all  their  herds, 
under  the  guidance  of  Moses. 

The  leader  dropped  his  sword,  and  it  might  have 
been  thought  that  the  scene  before  him  was  to  him 
an  agreeable  surprise,  but  his  companion,  a  scribe 
from  the  King's  treasury,  looked  round  the  deserted 
courtyard  with  the  disappointed  air  of  a  man  who 
has  been  cheated. 

The  tide  of  passions  and  schemes  which  had  risen 
high  during  the  night  ebbed  under  the  broad  light 
of  day !  Even  the  soldier's  easily -stirred  ire  had 
subsided  to  comparative  calm.  The  mob  might  have 
done  their  worst  to  the  other  Hebrews,  but  not  to 
Nun,  whose  son  Hosea  had  been  his  comrade  in 
battle,  one  of  the  most  esteemed  captains  in  the 
field,  and  a  private  friend  of  his  own.  If  Hornecht 
had  foreseen  that  his  father's  farmstead  would  be 
the  first  spot  to  be  attacked,  he  would  never  have 
led  the  mob  to  their  revenge,  and  once  more  in  his 
life  he  bitterly  rued  that  he  had  been  carried  away 
by  sudden  wrath  to  forget  the  calm  demeanor  which 
beseemed  his  years.  And  now,  while  some  of  the 
crowd  proceeded  to  rifle  and  pull  down  Nun's  de- 
serted dwellings,  men  and  women  came  running  in 


24  JOSHUA. 

to  say  that  no  living  soul  was  to  be  found  in  any  of 
the  other  houses  near.  Some  had  to  tell  of  yelling 
cats  squatting  on  vacant  hearths,  of  beasts  past  ser- 
vice found  slaughtered,  and  broken  household  gear  ; 
till  at  last  the  angry  crowd  dragged  forward  a  Pie- 
brew  with  his  family,  and  a  gray-haired,  half-witted 
woman  whom  they  had  hunted  out  among  some 
straw.  The  old  woman  laughed  foolishly  and  said 
that  her  people  had  called  her  till  they  were  hoarse, 
but  Mehela  knew  better  ;  and  as  for  walking,  walk- 
ing forever,  as  her  people  meant  to  do,  that  she 
could  not;  her  feet  were  too  tender,  and  she  had 
not  even  a  pair  of  sandals. 

The  man,  a  hideous  Jew,  whom  few  even  of  his  own 
race  would  have  regarded  with  pity,  declared,  first 
with  humility  bordering  on  servility,  and  then  with 
the  insolent  daring  that  was  natural  to  him,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  god  of  lies  in  whose  name 
the  impostor  Moses  had  tempted  away  his  people, 
but  that  he  and  his  wife  and  child  had  always  been 
friends  with  the  Egyptians.  As  a  matter  of  fact  lie 
was  known  to  many,  being  an  usurer,  and  when  the 
rest  of  his  tribe  had  taken  up  their  staves  he  had 
hidden  himself,  hoping  to  pursue  his  dishonest  deal- 
ings and  come  to  no  loss. 

But  some  of  his  debtors  were  among  the  furious 
mob ;  and  even  without  them  he  had  not  a  chance 
for  his  life,  for  he  was  the  first  object  on  which  the 
excited  multitude  could  prove  that  they  were  in  ear- 
nest in  their  revenge.  They  rushed  on  him  with  yells 
of  rage,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  bodies  of  the  hap- 


JOSHUA.  25 

less  wretch  and  his  family  lay  dead  on  the  ground. 
No  one  knew  who  had  done  the  bloody  deed ;  too 
many  had  fallen  on  the  victims  at  once. 

Others  who  had  remained  behind  were  dragged 
forth  from  houses  or  hovels,  and  they  were  not  a  few, 
though  many  had  time  to  escape  into  the  country. 
These  all  fell  victims  to  the  wrath  of  the  populace ; 
and  while  their  blood  was  flowing,  axeswere  heaved, 
and  doors  and  Avails  were  battered  down  with  beams 
and  posts  to  destroy  the  dwellings  of  the  detested 
race  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  glowing  embers  which  some  furious  women 
had  brought  with  them  were  extinguished  and  trod- 
den out,  for  the  more  prudent  warned  them  of  the 
danger  which  must  threaten  their  own  adjoining 
dwellings  and  the  whole  city  of  Tanis  if  the  stran- 
gers' quarters  were  set  in  flames. 

Thus  the  homes  of  the  Hebrews  were  spared  from 
fire,  but  as  the  sun  rose  higher,  the  site  of  the  dwell- 
ings they  had  deserted  was  wrapped  in  an  impene- 
trable cloud  of  white  dust  from  the  ruins,  and  on  the 
spot  where  but  yesterday  thousands  of  human  beings 
had  had  a  happy  home,  and  where  vast  herds  had 
slaked  their  thirst  by  fresh  waters,  nothing  was  now 
to  be  seen  but  heaps  of  rubbish  and  stone,  while 
broken  timber  and  splintered  woodwork  strewed  the 
scorching  soil.  Dogs  and  cats,  abandoned  by  the 
fugitives,  prowled  among  the  ruins,  and  were  pres- 
ently joined  by  the  women  and  children  who  herded 
in  the  beggars'  hovels  on  the  skirts  of  the  neighbor- 
ing- necropolis,  and  who  now,  with  their  hands  over 


26  JOSHUA. 

their  mouths,  hunted  among  the  choking  dust  and 
piles  of  lumber  for  any  vessels  or  broken  victuals 
which  the  Hebrews  might  have  left  behind  and  the 
plunderers  have  overlooked. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  Baie  was  borne  in 
his  litter  past  the  scene  of  devastation.  He  had  not 
come  hither  to  feast  his  eyes  on  the  sight  of  the  ruins, 
but  because  they  lay  in  the  nearest  way  from  the 
city  of  the  dead  to  his  own  home.  Nevertheless,  a 
smile  of  satisfaction  curled  his  grave  lips  as  he  noted 
ho\v  thoroughly  the  populace  had  done  their  work. 
What  he  himself  had  hoped  to  see  had  not  indeed 
been  carried  out;  the  leaders  of  the  fugitives  had 
evaded  their  revenge,  but  hatred,  though  it  is  never 
satiated,  can  be  easily  gratified.  Even  the  smaller 
woes  of  an  enemy  are  joy,  and  the  priest  had  just 
quitted  the  mourning  Pharaoh,  and  though  he  had 
not  yet  succeeded  in  freeing  him  completely  fronVthe 
bonds  laid  upon  him  by  the  Hebrew  soothsayer,  yet 
he  had  loosened  them. 

Three  words  had  the  proud,  ambitious  man  mur- 
mured to  himself  again  and  again — a  stiffnecked  man, 
not  wont  to  talk  to  himself — as  he  sat  alone  in  the 
sanctuary,  meditating  on  what  had  happened  and  on 
what  had  to  be  done ;  and  those  three  words  were : 
"  Bless  me  also." 

It  was  Pharaoh  who  had  spoken  them,  addressing 
the  petition  to  another ;  and  that  other  not  old  Ruie 
the  supreme  judge  and  high  priest,  nor  Baie  himself, 
the  only  men  living  whose  privilege  it  could  be  to 
bless  the  king :  no  ;  but  the  worst  of  the  accursed,  the 


JOSHUA.  27 

stranger  the  Hebrew  Mesu,  whom  he  hated  as  he 
hated  none  other  on  earth. 

"  Bless  me  also ! "  That  pious  entreaty,  which 
springs  so  confidingly  from  the  human  soul  in  anguish 
had  pierced  his  soul  like  a  dagger-thrust.  He  felt  as 
though  such  a  prayer,  addressed  by  such  lips  to  such 
a  man,  had  broken  the  staff  in  the  hand  of  the  whole 
priesthood  of  Egypt,  had  wrenched  the  panther  skin 
from  its  shoulders,  and  cast  a  stain  on  all  the  nation 
he  loved. 

He  knew  Mesu  well  for  one  of  the  wisest  sages  ever 
produced  by  the  schools  of  Egypt ;  he  knew  full  well 
that  Pharaoh  was  spell-bound  by  this  man,  who  had 
grown  up  in  his  house,  and  had  been  the  friend  of 
the  great  Rameses,  his  father.  He  had  seen  the  mon- 
arch pardon  misdeeds  in  Mesu  which  any  other  man, 
were  he  the  highest  in  the  land,  must  have  expiated 
with  his  life  ;  and  how  dear  must  this  Hebrew  have 
been  to  Pharaoh — the  sun-god  on  his  earthly  throne 
—when  he  could  compel  the  King,  standing  by  the 
deathbed  of  his  son,  to  uplift  his  hands  to  him  and 
implore  him  :  "  Bless  me  also ! " 

All  this  he  had  told  himself  and  weighed  with  due 
care,  and  still  he,  Baie,  could  not,  would  not  yield  to 
the  powerful  Hebrew.  He  had  regarded  it  as  his 
most  urgent  and  sacred  duty  to  bring  destruction  on 
him  and  his  whole  race.  To  fulfill  that  duty  he 
would  not  have  hesitated  to  lay  hands  on  the  throne  ; 
indeed,  in  his  eyes,  by  the  utterance  of  that  blas- 
phemous entreaty,  "Bless  me  also,"  Pharaoh 
Menephtah  had  forfeited  his  right  to  the  sovereignty. 


28  JOSHUA. 

Moses  was  the  murderer  of  Pharaoh's  first-born, 
whereas  he  himself  and  the  venerable  high  priest  of 
Amon  held  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  deceased  youth's 
soul  in  their  hands.  And  this  weapon  was  a  keen 
and  a  strong  one,  for  he  knew  how  soft  and  irres- 
olute was  the  King's  heart.  If  the  high  priest  of 
Amon — the  only  man  who  stood  above  him — did 
not  contravene  him  in  some  unaccountable  fit  of 
senile  caprice,  it  would  be  a  small  matter  to  reduce 
Pharaoh  to  submission,  but  the  vacillating  monarch 
might  repent  to-morrow  of  what  he  resolved  on  to- 
day, if  the  Hebrew  should  again  succeed  in  coming 
between  him  and  his  Egyptian  counsellors.  Only 
this  very  day,  on  hearing  the  name  of  Moses  spoken 
in  his  presence,  the  degenerate  son  of  Rameses  the 
Great  had  covered  his  face  and  quaked  like  a 
frightened  gazelle,  and  to-morrow  he  might  curse 
him  and  pronounce  sentence  of  death  against  him. 
He  might  perhaps  indeed  he  moved  to  do  this,  but 
even  then  by  the  day  after  he  would  very  surely  re- 
call him  and  beseech  his  blessing  once  more. 

Away  with  such  a  monarch !  Down  with  the 
feeble  reed  who  sat  on  the  throne,  down  to  the  very 
dust !  Baie  had  found  a  fitting  successor  among  the 
princes  of  the  blood  royal,  and  when  the  time  should 
come — when  Euie,  the  high-priest  of  Amon,  should 
cross  the  boundary  of  the  time  of  life  granted  to 
man  by  the  gods  and  close  his  eyes  in  death — then 
he,  Baie  himself,  would  fill  his  place;  a  new  life 
should  begin  for  Egypt,  and  Moses  and  his  tribes 
were  doomed. 


JOSHUA.  29 

As  the  prophet  thus  meditated,  a  pair  of  ravens 
fluttered  around  his  head,  and  then,  croaking  loudly, 
alighted  on  the  dusty  ruins  of  one  of  the  wrecked 
tenements.  His  eye  involuntarily  followed  their 
flight  and  perceived  that  they  had  settled  on  the. 
body  of  a  dead  Hebrew,  half  buried  in  rubbish. 
And  again  a  smile  stole  over  his  cunning,  defiant 
features,  a  smile  which  the  inferior  priests  who 
stood  about  his  litter  could  by  no  means  interpret. 


30  JOSHUA, 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOKNKCHT,  captain  of  the  bowmen,  had  by  this 
time  joined  company  with  the  prophet.  He  was  in- 
deed in  his  confidence,  for  the  warrior  likewise  was 
one  of  the  men  of  high  rank  who  had  conspired  to 
overthrow  the  reigning  Pharaoh. 

As  they  approached  the  ruined  dwelling  of  Nun, 
the  priest  pointed  to  the  heap  of  destruction  and 
said :  "  The  man  to  whom  this  once  belonged  is  the 
only  Hebrew  I  fain  would  spare.  He  was  a  man  of 
worth,  and  his  son  Hosea — 

"  He  will  be  true  to  us,"  interrupted  the  captain. 
"  Few  better  men  serve  in  the  ranks  of  Pharaoh's 
armies,  and,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  voice,  "  I  count 
on  him  in  the  day  of  deliverance." 

"  Of  that  we  will  speak  before  fewer  witnesses," 
replied  the  other.  "  But  I  owe  him  a  special  debt 
of  gratitude.  During  the  Libyan  war — you  know 
of  it — I  was  betrayed  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy, 
and  Hosea,  with  his  handful  of  men,  cut  me  a  way 
of  escape  from  the  wild  robbers."  Then,  dropping 
his  voice,  he  went  on  in  his  didactic  manner,  as 
though  he  were  making  excuse  for  the  mischief  be. 
fore  them.  "  Such  is  life  here  below !  "When  a 
whole  race  of  men  incurs  punishment  the  evil  falls 


JOSHUA.  31 

on  the  guiltless  with  the  guilty.  Not  even  the  gods 
can  in  such  a  case  divide  the  individual  from  the 
mob ;  the  visitation  falls  even  on  the  innocent  beasts. 
Look  at  that  flock  of  pigeons  hovering  over  the 
ruins  ;  they  seek  the  dovecote  in  vain.  And  that 
cat  with  her  kittens  !  Go,  Bekie,  and  rescue  them ; 
it  is  our  duty  to  preserve  the  sacred  animals  from 
starving  to  death." 

And  this  man,  who  had  contemplated  the  de- 
struction of  so  many  of  his  fellow-creatures  with 
barbarous  joy,  took  the  kindly  care  of  the  unreason- 
ing brutes  so  much  to  heart  that  he  made  the  bearers 
stop,  and  looked  on  while  his  servants  caught  the 
cats.  But  this  was  not  so  quickly  done  as  he  had 
hoped,  for  the  mother  fled  into  the  nearest  cellar 
opening,  and  the  gap  was  so  narrow  as  to  prevent 
the  men  from  following  her.  However,  the  youngest 
of  them  all,  a  slim  Nubian,  undertook  to  fetch  her 
out ;  but  he  hardly  looked  down  into  the  opening 
when  he  started  back  and  cried  to  his  lord : 

"  A  human  being  is  lying  there,  and  seems  to  be 
yet  alive.  Yes,  he  beckons  with  his  hand.  It  is  a 
boy  or  a  youth,  and  certainly  not  a  slave.  His  hair 
is  long  and  curly,  and  on  his  arm — for  a  sunbeam 
falls  straight  in— I  can  see  a  broad  gold  band." 

"  One  of  the  family  of  Nun,  perhaps,  who  has 
been  forgotten,"  said  the  warrior,  and  Baie  eagerly 
added :  "  It  is  the  guidance  of  the  gods !  The  sacred 
beasts  have  led  me  to  the  spot  where  I  may  do  a  ser- 
vice to  the  man  to  whom  I  owe  so  much.  Try  and 
make  your  way  in,  Bekie,  aud  fetch  the  youth  out." 


32  JOSHUA. 

The  Nubian,  meanwhile,  had  moved  away  a  stone, 
which,  in  its  fall,  had  partly  closed  the  entrance, 
and  in  a  short  while  he  held  up  to  his  comrades  a 
motionless  young  form,  which  they  lifted  out  into 
the  open  air  and  carried  to  a  well.  There  they  soon 
brought  him  back  to  life  with  the  cool  water. 

As  he  recovered  consciousness  he  rubbed  his  eyes, 
looked  about  him  in  bewilderment  as  though  he 
knew  not  where  he  was,  and  then  his  head  fell  on 
his  breast  as  if  overcome  by  grief  and  horror,  and  it 
could  be  seen  that  at  the  back  of  his  head  the  hair 
was  matted  with  dark  patches  of  dried  blood. 

By  the  prophet's  care  the  wound,  which  was  deep, 
from  a  stone  which  had  fallen  on  the  lad,  was  washed 
at  the  well ;  and  when  it  was  bound  up  he  bid  him 
get  into  his  own  litter,  which  was  screened  from  the 
sun. 

The  youth  had  arrived  before  sunrise,  after  a  long 
walk  by  night  from  Pithom,  called  by  the  Hebrews 
Succoth,  to  bring  a  message  to  his  grandfather, 
Nun,  but  finding  the  place  deserted  he  had  lain 
down  in  one  of  the  empty  rooms  to  rest  awhile. 
Awaking  at  the  uproar  of  the  infuriated  Egyptians, 
and  hearing  the  curses  on  his  race,  which  rang  out 
on  every  side,  he  had  fled  to  the  cellar,  and  the 
falling  roof,  although  he  had  been  hurt,  had  proved 
his  salvation,  for  the  clouds  of  dust,  which  had  hid- 
den everything  as  it  crashed  down,  had  concealed 
him  from  the  sight  of  the  plunderers. 

The  priest  gazed  at  him  attentively,  and  though 
the  youth  was  unwashed  and  pale,  with  a  blood- 


JOSHUA.  33 

stained  bandage  round  his  head,  he  could  see  that 
the  being  he  had  restored  to  life  was  a  handsome, 
well-grown  lad,  on  the  verge  of  manhood.  Full  of 
eager  sympathy,  he  mollified  the  stern  gravity  of 
his  eye,  and  questioned  him  kindly  as  to  whence  he 
came  and  what  had  brought  him  to  Tanis,  for  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  from  the  youth's  features  even  of 
what  nation  he  might  be.  He  might  easily  have 
passed  himself  off  as  an  Egyptian,  but  he  quite 
frankly  owned  that  he  was  the  grandson  of  Nun. 
He  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  his  name  was  Ephraim, 
like  his  ancestor,  the  son  of  Joseph,  and  he  had  come 
to  see  his  grandfather.  And  he  spoke  with  an  accent 
of  steadfast  self-respect  and  joy  in  his  illustrious 
descent. 

When  asked  whether  he  had  been  the  bearer  of  a 
message  he  did  not  forthwith  reply, 'but  after  col- 
lecting his  thoughts  he  looked  fearlessly  into  the 
prophet's  face  and  answered  frankly: 

"Be  you  who  you  may,  I  have  been  taught  to 
speak  the  truth.  You  shall  know,  then,  that  I  have 
another  kinsman  dwelling  in  Tanis — Hosea,  the  son 
of  Nun,  who  is  a  captain  in  Pharaoh's  army,  and  I 
have  a  message  for  him." 

"  And  you  shall  know,"  replied  the  priest,  "  that 
it  was  for  the  sake  of  that  very  Hosea  that  I  lin- 
gered here  and  bid  my  servants  rescue  you  alive 
from  that  ruined  house.  I  owe  him  thanks,  and  al- 
though the  greater  number  of  your  nation  have  done 
deeds  worthy  of  the  heaviest  punishment,  yet  for  his 


34  JOSHUA. 

noble  sake  you  shall  dwell  among  us  free  and  un- 
harmed." 

On  this  the  boy  looked  up  at  the  priest  with  a 
flash  of  eager  pride ;  but  before  he  could  speak  Baie 
went  on  with  encouraging  friendliness : 

"  I  read  in  your  eyes,  my  boy,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
that  you  are  come  to  seek  service  under  your  Uncle 
Hosea  in  Pharaoh's  army.  Your  stature  should 
make  you  skilful  in  handling  weapons,  and  you  cer- 
tainly cannot  lack  for  daring." 

A  smile  of  flattered  vanity  lighted  up  Ephraim's 
face,  and  turning  the  broad  gold  bangle  on  his  arm, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  he  eagerly  replied : 

"  I  am  brave,  my  lord,  and  have  proved  it  often  in 
the  hunting-field.  But  at  home  there  are  cattle  and 
sheep  in  abundance,  which  I  already  call  my  own, 
and  it  seems  bo  me  a  better  lot  to  wander  free  and 
rule  the  shepherds  than  to  do  what  others  bid  me." 

"  So,  so,"  replied  the  priest.  "  Well,  Hosea  per- 
haps will  bring  you  to  another  and  a  better  mind. 
To  rule  !  a  noble  goal  indeed  for  a  youth !  The  pity 
is  that  we  who  have  reached  it  are  but  servants,  the 
more  heavily-burdened  in  proportion  to  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  obey  us.  You  understand  me, 
Captain ;  and  you.  boy,  will  understand  me  later, 
when  you  have  become  such  a  palm  tree  as  your 
sapling  growth  promises.  But  time  presses.  Who 
sent  you  hither  to  Hosea  ? " 

The  youth  again  looked  down  and  hesitated  ;  but 
when  the  prophet  had  broken  in  on  his  silence  by 
saying,  "And  that  candor  which  you  have  been 


JOSHUA,  35 

taught  2 "  he  replied,  firmly  and  decidedly  :  "  I  came 
to  do  pleasure  to  a  woman  whom  you  know  not. 
Let  that  suffice." 

"  A  woman ! "  echoed  the  prophet,  and  he  cast  an 
inquiring  glance  at  Hornecht.  "  When  a  valiant 
warrior  and  a  fair  woman  seek  each  other  the  Hath- 
ors  *  are  wont  to  intervene  and  use  the  binding  cords, 
but  it  ill  beseems  a  minister  of  the  divinity  to  play 
spectator  to  such  doings,  so  I  inquire  no  further. 
Take  this  boy  under  your  protection,  Captain,  and 
help  him  to  carry  his  errand  to  Hosea.  The  only 
question  is  whether  he  is  yet  returned." 

"  No,"  replied  the  soldier,  "  but  this  very  day  he 
and  ten  thousand  men  are  expected  at  the  armory." 

"  Then  mav  the  Hathors  who  favor  love-messages 

*/  O 

bring  these  two  to  a  meeting  no  later  than  to-mor- 
row ! "  cried  the  priest.  But  the  youth  broke  in  in- 
dignantly :  "  I  bear  no  love  message  from  one  to  the 
other!" 

And  the  priest,  who  was  well  pleased  by  his  bold- 
ness, replied  gayly :  "  I  had  forgotten  that  I  am 
speaking  to  a  shepherd-prince."  Then  he  added 
more  gravely  :  "  When  you  shall  have  found  Hosea 
give  him  greeting  from  me,  and  say  to  him  that 
Baie,  the  second  prophet  of  Amon,  whom  he  saved 
from  the  hand  of  the  Libyans,  believes  that  he  is 
paying  some  part  of  his  debt  by  extending  a  pro- 
tecting hand  over  you,  his  nephew.  You,  bold  youth, 
know  not,  perhaps,  that  you  have  escaped  a  twofold 

*  The  Hathors  were  the  Egyptian  love-goddesses.  They  are 
often  depicted  with  cords  in  their  hands. 


36  JOSHUA. 

danger  as  by  a  miracle.  The  furious  Egyptians 
would  no  more  have  spared  your  life  than  would  the 
choking  dust  of  falling  houses.  Bear  that  in  mind, 
and  tell  Hosea,  moreover,  from  me,  Baie,  that  I  am 
sure  that  as  soon  as  he  sees  with  his  own  eyes 
the  misery  wrought  on  the  house  of .  Pharaoh  to 
whom  he  has  sworn  allegiance,  and  with  it,  on  this 
city  and  on  the  whole  land,  by  the  magic  arts  of  one 
of  your  race,  he  will  cut  himself  off  in  horror  from 
those  cowards.  For  they  have  basely  fled,  after  slay- 
ing the  best  and  dearest  of  those  among  whom  they 
have  dwelt  in  peace,  whose  protection  they  have 
enjoyed,  and  who  for  long  years  have  given  them 
work  and  fed  them  abundantly.  If  I  know  him  at 
all,  as  an  honest  man  he  will  turn  his  back  on  those 
who  have  sinned  thus.  And  you  may  tell  him  like- 
wise that  the  Hebrew  officers  and  fighting  men 
under  the  captainship  of  Aarsu,  the  Syrian,  have 
already  done  so  of  their  own  free  will.  This  day— 
and  Hosea  Avill  have  heard  the  tidings  from  others — 
they  offered  sacrifice,  not  only  to  their  own  gods, 
Baal  and  Set — whom  you,  too,  many  of  you,  were 
wont  to  serve  before  the  vile  magician  Mesu  led  you 
astray — but  also  to  Father  Amon  and  the  sacred 
nine  of  our  eternal  gods.  And  if  he  will  do  likewise, 
he  and  I,  hand  in  hand,  will  rise  to  great  power — of 
that  he  may  be  assured — and  he  is  worthy  of  it. 
The  rest  of  the  debt  of  gratitude  I  still  owe  him  I  will 
find  other  means  of  paying,  which  as  yet  must  re- 
main undiscovered.  But  you  may  promise  your 
uncle  from  me  that  I  will  take  care  of  Nun,  his 


JOSHUA.  37 

worthy  father,  when  the  vengeance  of  the  gods  and 
of  Pharaoh  overtakes  the  other  men  of  your  nation. 
Already — tell  him  this  likewise — is  the  sword  set, 
and  judgment  without  mercy  shall  be  done  on  them. 
Tell  him  to  ask  himself  what  can  fugitive  shep- 
herds do  against  the  might  of  that  army  of  which 
he  himself  is  one  of  the  captains  ? — Is  your  father 
yet  alive,  my  son  ?  " 

"No;  he  was  borne  out  long  since,"  replied 
Ephraim  in  a  broken  voice. 

Was  it  that  the  fever  of  his  wound  was  too  much 
for  him  ?  That  the  disgrace  of  belonging  to  a  race 
who  could  do  such  shameful  deeds  overpowered  his 
young  soul  ?  Or  was  the  youth  true  to  his  people, 
and  was  it  wrath  and  indignation  that  made  his  cheek 
turn  pale,  then  red,  and  stirred  up  such  turmoil  in 
his  soul  that  he  could  hardly  speak  ?  No  matter. 
But  it  was  clear  that  he  was  no  fit  bearer  of  the 
prophet's  message  to  his  uncle,  and  the  priest  signed 
to  the  Captain  to  come  with  him  under  the  shade  of 
a  broad  sycamore  tree.  The  Hebrew  must  at  any 
cost  be  retained  with  the  army ;  he  laid  his  hand  on 
his  friend's  shoulder,  saying : "  You  know  that  it 
was  my  wife  who  won  you  over  to  our  great  scheme. 
She  serves  it  better  and  with  greater  zeal  than  many 
a  man,  and  while  I  admire  your  daughter's  beauty 
she  is  full  of  praises  of  her  winning  charm." 

"  And  Kasana  is  to  join  the  conspiracy  ? "  ex-- 
claimed the  soldier  in  displeasure. 

"  Not  as  an  active  partner,  like  my  wife — of  course 
not." 


38  JOSHUA. 

"  She  would  hardly  serve  that  end,"  replied  the 
other  in  a  calmer  tone,  "  for  she  is  like  a  child." 

"  And  yet  she  may  win  over  to  our  cause  a  man 
whose  good-will  appears  to  me  to  be  inestimable." 

"  You  mean  Hosea  ? "  asked  Hornecht,  and  again 
his  brow  grew  black,  while  the  prophet  went  on  : 

"  And  if  I  do  ?  Is  he  indeed  a  thorough  Hebrew, 
and  can  you  think  it  unworthy  of  the  daughter  of  a 
warrior  of  valor  to  give  her  hand  to  the  man  who, 
if  our  undertaking  prospers,  will  act  as  chief  captain 
over  all  the  troops  of  the  land  ? " 

"  No,  my  lord,"  cried  the  archer.  "  But  one  of 
the  causes  of  my  wrath  against  Pharaoh,  and  of  my 
taking  part  with  Siptah,  is  that  his  mother  was  not 
of  our  nation,  while  Egyptian  blood  flows  in  Siptah's 
veins.  Now,  the  mother  determines  a  man's  race, 
and  Hosea's  mother  was  a  Hebrew  woman.  I  call 
him  my  friend ;  I  know  how  to  value  his  merits ; 
Kasana  is  well  inclined  to  him — 

"  And  yet  you  desire  a  greater  son-in-law  ? "  inter- 
rupted Baie.  "  How  can  our  difficult  enterprise 
prosper  if  those  who  risk  their  lives  in  it  think  the 
very  first  sacrifice  too  great  ?  And  your  daughter, 
you  say,  is  well  inclined  to  Hosea  ? " 

"  She  was  ;  yes,  truly,"  the  soldier  put  in.  "  Yes, 
her  heart  longed  after  him.  But  I  brought  her  to 
obedience ;  she  became  the  wife  of  another ;  and 
now  that  she  is  a  widow  shall  I  be  the  one  to  offer 
her  to  him  whom  I  compelled  her  to  give  up — the 
gods  alone  knoAv  how  hardly  ?  When  was  the  like 
ever  heard  of  in  Egypt  ? " 


JOSHUA.  39 

"Whenever  the  men  and  women  by  the  Mle  have 
so  far  mastered  themselves  as  to  submit  to  necessity 
in  opposition  to  their  own  wishes,  for  the  sake  of  a 
great  cause,"  replied  the  priest.  "  Think  of  these 
things.  Remember,  too,  that  Hosea's  ancestress  was 
an  Egyptian — he  has  boasted  of  it  in  your  presence — 
the  daughter  of  a  priest  like  myself." 

"  But  since  then  how  many  generations  have 
passed  to  the  grave  ! " 

"  That  matters  not.  It  brings  him  nearer  to  us 
and  that  must  suffice.  We  shall  meet  again  this 
evening.  Meanwhile  will  you  give  hospitality  to 
Hosea's  nephew  and  bespeak  your  fair  daughter's 
care,  for  he  seems  to  need  it  sorely  ?  " 


40  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTEK  IY. 

THERE  was  mourning  in  the  house  of  Hornecht 
as  in  every  house  in  the  city.  The  men  had  shaved 
their  heads  and  the  women  had  strewn  dust  on 
their  foreheads.  The  captain's  wife  was  long  since 
dead,  but  his  daughter  and  her  women  met  him 
with  waving  veil  and  loud  wailing,  for  their  lord's 
brother-in-law  was  bereft  both  of  his  first-born  son  and 
of  his  grandson ;  and  in  how  many  houses  of  their 
circle  of  friends  had  the  plague  claimed  its  victims ! 

However,  the  fainting  youth  demanded  all  the 
women's  care ;  he  was  washed,  and  the  deep  wound 
in  his  head  was  freshly  bound  up ;  strong  wine  and 
food  were  set  before  him,  and  then,  refreshed  and 
strengthened,  he  followed  at  the  bidding  of  his 
host's  daughter. 

The  dust-stained  and  exhausted  lad  now  stood  re- 
vealed as  a  handsome  young  fellow.  His  scented 
hair  flowed  in  long,  waving  locks  from  beneath  the 
clean,  white  bandage,  and  his  elastic,  sunburnt  limbs 
were  covered  by  Egyptian  garments  embroidered 
with  gold,  out  of  the  wardrobe  of  the  captain's  de- 
ceased son-in-law.  He  seemed  pleased  to  see  him- 
self in  the  handsome  raiment,  from  which  there  pro- 
ceeded a  fragrance  of  spikenard  new  to  his  ex- 


JOSHUA.  41 

perience,  for  his  black  eyes  brightly  lighted  up  his 
well-cut  features. 

It  was  long  since  the  captain's  daughter  had  seen 
a  better  favored  youth,  and  she  herself  was  full  of 
great  and  lovely  charm.  After  a  brief  married  life 
Avith  a  man  she  had  never  loved,  Kasana  within  a 
year  had  come  back  a  widow  to  her  father's  house, 
where  there  was  now  no  mistress ;  and  the  great 
wealth  of  which  she  had  become  possessed  by  her 
husband's  death  enabled  her  to  bring  into  the  war- 
xrior's  modest  home  the  splendor  and  luxury  which 
to  her  had  become  a  necessity. 

Her  father,  who  in  many  a  contest  had  proved 
himself  a  man  of  violent  temper,  now  yielded  to 
her  will  in  all  things.  In  past  time  he  had  ruthless- 
ly asserted  his  own,  and  had  forced  her  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  into  a  marriage  with  a  man  much  older 
than  herself.  This  he  had  done  because  he  had  ob- 
served that  Kasana's  young  heart  was  set  on  Hosea, 
the  man  of  war,  and  he  deemed  it  beneath  him  to 
accept  the  Hebrew,  who  at  that  time  held  no  place  of 
honor  in  the  army,  as  a  son-in-law.  An  Egyptian 
maiden  could  but  obey  her  father  without  demur 
when  he  chose  her  a  husband,  and  so  Kasana  had 
submitted,  though  during  the  period  of  her  be- 
trothal she  shed  so  many  bitter  tears  that  the 
archer-captain  was  glad  indeed  when  she  had  done 
his  bidding  and  given  her  hand  to  the  husband  of 
his  choice. 

But  even  in  her  widowhood  his  daughter's  heart 
clung  to  the  Hebrew ;  for  when  the  army  was  in 


42  JOSHUA. 

the  field  she  never  ceased  to  be  anxious,  and  spent 
her  days  and  nights  in  troubled  unrest.  When 
tidings  come  from  the  front  she  asked  only  concern- 
ing Hosea,  and  it  was  to  her  love  for  him  that 
Hornecht,  with  deep  vexation,  ascribed  her  re- 
peated rejection  of  suitor  after  suitor.  As  a  widow 
she  had  the  right  to  dispose  of  her  hand,  and  this 
gentle,  yielding  young  creature  would  amaze  her 
father  by  the  abrupt  decisiveness  with  which  she 
made  her  independence  felt,  not  alone  to  him  and 
her  suitors,  but  likewise  to  Prince  Siptah,  whose 
cause  her  father  had  made  his  own. 

This  day  Kasana  expressed  her  satisfaction  at 
Hosea's  home-coming  so  frankly  and  unreservedly 
that  the  hot-tempered  man-  hastened  out  of  the 
house  lest  he  should  be  led  into  some  ill-considered 
act  or  speech.  He  left  the  care  of  their  young 
guest  to  his  daughter  and  her  faithful  nurse ;  and 
how  delightful  to  the  lad's  sensitive  soul  was  the 
effect  of  the  warrior's  home,  with  its  lofty,  airy 
rooms,  open  colonnades  and  bright  and  richly- 
colored  paintings ;  its  artistic  vessels  and  ornaments, 
soft  couches  and  all-pervading  fragrance.  All  this 
was  new  and  strange  to  the  son  of  a  pastoral  land- 
owner, accustomed  to  live  within  the  bare,  gray 
walls  of  a  spacious  but  perfectly  graceless  farm- 
dwelling  ;  or,  for  months  at  a  time,  in  canvas  tents 
amid  flocks  and  shepherds,  and  more  often  in  the 
open  air  than  under  a  roof  or  shelter.  He  felt  as 
though  by  enchantment  he  had  been  transported  to 
some  higher  and  more  desirable  world,  and  as  though 


JOSHUA.  43 

he  became  it  well  in  his  splendid  garb,  with  his 
oiled  and  perfumed  curls  and  freshly -bathed  limbs. 
Life,  indeed,  was  everywhere  fair,  even  out  in  the 
fields  among  the  herds  or  in  the  cool  of  the  even- 
ing round  the  fire  in  front  of  the  tent,  where 
the  shepherds  sang  songs,  and  the  hunters  told  tales 
of  adventure,  while  the  stars  shone  brightly  over- 
head. But  hard  and  hated  labor  had  first  to  be 
done.  Here  it  was  a  joy  merely  to  gaze  and  breathe  ; 
and  when  presently  the  curtain  was  lifted  and  the 
young  widow  greeted  him  kindly  and  made  him 
sit  down  by  her,  now  questioning  him  and  now  lis- 
tening sympathetically  to  his  replies,  he  almost 
fancied  that  he  had  lost  his  senses,  as  he  had  done 
under  the  ruins  in  the  cellar,  and  that  the  sweetest 
of  dreams  was  cheating  him. 

The  feeling  which  now  seemed  to  choke  him,  and 
again  and  again  hindered  his  utterance,  was  surely 
the  excess  of  bliss  poured  down  upon  him  by  great 
Astarte,  the  partner  of  Baal,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
many  tales  from  the  Phoenician  traders  who  sup- 
plied the  shepherd  settlers  with  various  good  things, 
and  of  whom  he  was  forbidden  by  stern  Miriam 
ever  to  speak  at  home. 

His  people  had  implanted  in  his  young  soul  a 
hatred  of  the  Egyptians  as  the  oppressors  of  his 
race ;  but  could  they  be  so  evil,  could  he  abhor  a 
nation  among  whom  there  were  such  beings  to  be 
found  as  the  fair  and  gentle  lady  who  looked  so 
softly  and  yet  so  warmly  into  his  eyes ;  whose  speech 
bewitched  his  ear  like  sweet  music,  whose  gaze  set 


44  JOSHUA. 

his  blood  in  such  swift  motion  that  he  could  hardly 
bear  it,  and  pressed  his  hand  to  his  heart  to  still  its 
wild  throbbing  ? 

There  she  sat  opposite  him  on  a  stool  covered  with 
a  panther  skin,  and  drew  the  wool  from  the  distaff. 
He  had  taken  her  fancy,  and  she  had  welcomed  him 
warmly  because  he  was  kin  to  the  man  she  had 
loved  from  her  childhood.  She  believed  she  could 
trace  a  likeness  in  him  to  Ilosea,  although  the  boy 
still  lacked  the  gravity  of  the  man  to  whom  she  had 
given  her  young  heart,  when  and  how  she  herself 
could  not  tell,  for  he  had  never  sued  for  her  love. 

A  lotos-flower  was  fastened  into  her  well-arranged 
waving  black  hair,  and  its  stem  lay  in  a  graceful 
curve  on  her  bent  neck,  round  which  hung  a  mass 
of  beautiful  curls.  When  she  raised  her  eyes  to 
look  into  his  it  was  as  though  two  deep  wells 
opened  before  him  to  pour  streams  of  bliss  into  his 
young  breast,  and  that  slender  hand  Avhich  spun  the 
yarn  he  had  already  touched  in  greeting  and  held 
in  his  own. 

Presently  she  inquired  of  him  concerning  Hosea 
and  the  woman  who  had  sent  him  a  message — 
whether  she  were  young  and  fair,  and  whether 
there  were  any  tie  of  love  between  her  and  his 
uncle.  At  this  Ephraim  laughed  aloud.  For  she 
who  had  sent  him  was  so  grave  and  stern  that  the 
mere  idea  of  her  being  capable  of  a  tender  emotion 
roused  his  mirth.  As  to  whether  she  were  fair,  he 
had  never  given  it  a  thought. 

The  young  widow  took  this  laughter  as  the  most 


JOSHUA.  45 

welcome  reply  she  could  hear,  and  with  a  sigh  of 
relief  she  laid  aside  the  spindle  she  held  and  desired 
Ephraim  to  come  with  her  into  the  garden. 

How  sweet  it  was  with  scent  and  bloom,  how 
well  trimmed  were  the  beds,  the  paths,  the  arbors 
and  the  pool.  The  only  pleasaunce  of  his  simple 
home  was  a  broad  courtyard  devoid  of  ornament, 
full  of  pens  for  cattle  and  sheep  ;  yet  he  knew  that 
some  day  he  would  be  ruler  over  great  possessions, 
for  he  was  the  only  son  and  heir  of  a  rich  father, 
and  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Nun. 
The  serving-men  had  told  him  all  this  many  a  time, 
and  it  vexed  his  soul  to  see  that  his  own  home  was 
little  better  than  the  quarters  for  the  Captain's 
slaves,  which  Kasana  pointed  out  to  him. 

As  they  rambled  through  the  garden  she  bid 
Ephraim  help  her  to  pluck  some  flowers,  and  when 
the  basket  which  he  carried  for  her  was  full,  she 
invited  him  to  sit  with  her  in  an  arbor  and  lend  a 
hand  in  twining  garlands.  These  were  offerings  to 
the  beloved  dead.  Her  uncle  and  a  favorite  cousin 
— somewhat  like  Ephraim  himself — had  been 
snatched  away  during  the  past  night  by  the  pesti- 
lence, which  his  people  had  brought  upon  Tanis. 

And  from  the  street  which  ran  along  the  garden - 
wall  the  wailing  of  women  was  incessantly  heard, 
as  they  mourned  over  the  dead  or  bore  a  corpse  to 
its  burying ;  and  when  suddenly  it  rose  louder  and 
more  woeful  than  before,  she  gently  reproached  him 
for  all  that  the  people  of  Tanis  had  suffered  for  the 
sake  of  the  Hebrews,  and  asked  him  if  he  could 


46  JOSHUA. 

deny  that  her  nation  had  good  reason  to  hate  a  race 
that  had  brought  such  plagues  upon  it. 

To  this  he  found  it  difficult  to  answer  discreetly, 
for  he  had  been  told  that  it  was  the  God  of  his  peo- 
ple who  had  stricken  the  Egyptians,  to  release  his 
own  from  oppression  and  slavery,  and  he  dared  not 
deny  or  contemn  his  own  flesh  and  blood.  So  he 
was  silent,  that  he  might  neither  lie  nor  blaspheme, 
but  she  gave  him  no  peace,  and  at  last  he  made  an- 
swer that  all  which  brought  sorrow  on  her  was  re- 
pugnant to  him,  but  that  his  people  had  no  power 
over  health  and  life,  for  that  Avhen  a  Hebrew  was 
sick  he  very  commonly  applied  to  an  Egyptian 
leech.  What  had  now  come  to  pass  was  no  doubt 
the  act  of  the  great  God  of  his  fathers,  who  was  of 
more  might  than  all  other  gods.  He,  at  any  rate, 
was  a  Hebrew,  and  she  might  believe  him  when  he 
assured  her  that  he  was  guiltless  of  the  pestilence, 
and  that  he  would  gladly  call  her  uncle  and  cousin 
back  to  life  again  if  he  had  it  in  his  power.  For 
her  sake  he  was  ready  to  do  anything,  even  the 
hardest  task. 

She  smiled  on  him  sweetly,  and  said :  "  Poor 
boy  !  If  I  find  a  fault  in  you,  it  is  only  that  you 
belong  to  a  race  to  whom  forbearance  and  pity  are 
alik<j  unknown.  Alas !  for  our  hapless  and  beloved 
dead.  They  must  even  be  deprived  of  the  songs  of 
lamentation  of  those  who  mourn  for  them ;  for  the 
house  where  they  lie  is  plague-stricken  and  none 
may  enter  there." 

She  dried  her  eyes  and  said  no  more,  but  went  on 


JOSHUA.  47 

winding  her  garland  ;  but  tear  after  tear  rolled 
down  her  cheeks.  He  knew  not  what  more  to  say, 
and  could  only  hand  her  flowers  and  leaves.  When- 
ever her  hand  chanced  to  touch  his  the  blood  coursed 
hotly  through  his  veins.  His  head  and  the  wound 
began  to  ache  violently,  and  now  and  then  he 
shivered.  He  felt  that  the  fever  was  gaining  on 
him,  as  it  had  once  before,  when  he  had  nearly  lost 
his  life  in  the  red  sickness,  but  he  was  ashamed  to 
confess  it,  and  held  out  against  it. 

When  the  sun  was  already  low  the  Captain  came 
out  into  the  garden.  He  had  already  seen  Hosea, 
and  although  he  was  sincerely  glad  to  meet  his 
trusted  friend  once  more,  he  had  been  ill  pleased 
and  uneasy  that,  before  all  else,  he  had  made  warm 
inquiry  for  his  daughter.  He  did  not  conceal  this 
from  Kasana,  but  the  glare  of  his  eyes  revealed  the 
dissatisfaction  with  which  he  greeted  her  from  the 
Hebrew.  Then  he  turned  to  Ephraim,  and  told  him 
that  Hosea  with  his  host  had  halted  outside  the  city, 
by  reason  of  the  plague.  They  were  to  pitch  their 
tents  without  its  precincts,  between  Tanis  and  the 
sea.  They  must  presently  go  forth  to  the  camp, 
and  his  uncle  sent  him  word  that  he  was  to  seek 
him  there  in  his  tent. 

When  he  saw  the  lad  helping  his  daughter  to 
wind  the  funeral  wreaths  he  smiled,  exclaiming : 
"  Only  this  morning  this  young  lordling  longed  to 
be  free  and  a  ruler  all  his  life,  and  now  he  has  en- 
tered your  service,  Kasana.  Nay,  do  not  blush,  my 
young  friend.  And  if  either  your  mistress  or  your 


48  JOSHUA. 

uncle  can  prevail  upon  you  to  become  one  of  us, 
and  devote  yourself  to  the  noblest  toil — that  of  a 
warrior — it  will  be  well  for  you.  Look  at  me  !  For 
more  than  forty  years  have  I  Avielded  the  bow,  and 
to  this  day  I  rejoice  in  my  calling.  I  have  to  obey, 
to  be  sure,  but  I  have  also  to  command,  and  the 
thousands  that  do  my  bidding  are  not  sheep  and 
beasts,  but  brave  men.  Consider  the  matter  once 
more.  He  would  make  a  splendid  chief  of  the  bow- 
men ;  what  do  you  say,  Kasana  \ " 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  lady,  and  she  had  it  in 
her  mind  to  say  more,  but  beyond  the  garden-wall 
the  measured  tread  of  approaching  troops  fell  on 
the  ear.  The  bright  blood  mounted  to  her  cheeks, 
her  eyes  glowed  with  a  flame  which  startled 
Ephraim,  and,  heedless  of  her  father  or  her  guest, 
she  flew  past  the  pool,  across  the  avenues  and 
flower-beds,  up  a  turf-bank  near  the  wall  to  gaze 
with  eager  eyes  out  into  the  road  and  on  the  armed 
host  which  presently  came  past. 

Hosea  marched  at  its  head  in  full  armor.  He 
turned  his  grave  face  as  he  came  by  the  Captain's 
garden,  and  when  he  saw  Kasana  he  lowered  his 
battle  axe  in  friendly  greeting.  Ephraim  had  fol- 
lowed with  the  Captain,  who  pointed  out  Hosea  and 
said :  "  A  bright  weapon  like  that  would  well  be- 
come you,  too,  and  when  the  drum  is  beating  and 
the  pipe  squeaking,  while  the  standards  ride  high 
over  head,  a  man  marches  as  lightly  as  though  he 
had  wings.  To-day  the  martial  music  is  silenced  by 
reason  of  the  dreadful  grief  that  the  malignant 


JOSHUA.  49 

Hebrew  has  brought  upon  us.  Hosea,  indeed,  is  of 
his  race ;  yet  little  as  I  can  overlook  that  fact,  I 
must  confess  that  he  is  a  thorough  soldier  and  a 
model  for  the  younger  generation.  Only  tell  him 
what  I  think  of  him  in  this  respect.  Now,  bid  fare- 
well at  once  to  Kasana  and  follow  the  troops  ;  the 
little  side-gate  in  the  wall  is  open." 

As  he  spoke  he  turned  to  go  back  into  the  house, 
and  Ephraim  held  out  his  hand  to  bid  the  young 
woman  farewell.  She  gave  him  hers,  but  instantly 
withdrew  it,  saying :  "  How  hot  your  hand  is.  You 
are  in  a  fever ! " 

"  Nay,  nay,"  murmured  the  boy ;  but  even  as  he 
spoke  he  dropped  on  his  knees,  and  a  cloud  came 
over  the  suffering  lad's  soul,  chased  as  it  had  been 
from  one  emotion  to  another. 

Kasana  was  startled,  but  she  at  once  recovered 
her  presence  of  mind,  and  proceeded  to  cool  his 
brow  and  the  top  of  his  head  with  water  out  of  the 
adjacent  pool.  And  as  she  did  so  she  looked  anx- 
iously in  his  face,  and  never  had  his  likeness  to 
Hosea  struck  her  so  vividly.  Yes,  the  man  she 
loved  must  have  exactly  resembled  this  youth  when 
he  himself  was  a  boy.  Her  heart  beat  faster,  and 
as  she  supported  his  head  in  her  hands  she  softly 
kissed  him. 

She  thought  he  was  unconscious,  but  the  refresh- 
ing moisture  had  recovered  him  from  his  brief 
swoon,  and  he  felt  the  touch  with  a  sweet  thrill,  but 
kept  his  eyes  shut,  and  would  have  lain  thus  for  a 
lifetime  with  his  head  on  her  bosom,  in  the  hope 
4 


50  JOSHUA. 

that  her  lips  might  once  more  meet  his.  Instead  of 
kissing  him  again  she  called  loudly  for  help.  At 
this  he  roused  himself,  gave  one  more  passionate, 
fervid  look  into  her  face,  and,  before  she  could  stop 
him,  fled  like  a  strong  man  to  the  garden-door, 
pushed  it  open  and  was  gone  after  the  host.  He 
soon  caught  up  the  rear,  soon  overtook  the  others, 
and  at  last,  finding  himself  by  the  Captain's  side,  he 
called  to  his  uncle  and  announced  himself  by  name. 
At  this  Hosea,  in  his  joy  and  surprise,  held  out  his 
arms ;  but  almost  before  Ephraim  could  fall  upon 
his  neck  he  again  lost  consciousness,  and  strong 
soldiers  carried  the  lad  into  the  tent  which  the 
quartermasters  had  already  pitched  on  a  sand-hill 
by  the  sea. 


JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

"  IT  was  midnight.  A  fire  burned  before  Hosea's 
tent  and  he  sat  alone  beside  it,  gazing  sadly  and 
thoughtfully  first  into  the  flames  and  then  out  into 
the  distance.  The  lad  Ephraim  was  lying  inside  the 
tent  on  his  uncle's  camp  bed. 

The  leech  who  accompanied  the  troops  had  dressed 
the  youth's  wound,  and  having  given  him  a  strength- 
ening draught  bade  him  remain  quiet,  for  he  was 
alarmed  at  the  high  fever  that  had  fallen  on  him. 

But  Ephraim  found  not  the  rest  the  physician  had 
advised.  The  image  of  Kasana  now  rose  before  his 
imagination  and  added  fire  to  his  already  overheated 
blood.  Then  his  thoughts  flew  to  the  advice  that  he 
should  become  a  warrior  like  his  uncle ;  and  it  seemed 
to  him  reasonable,  because  it  promised  him  glory  and 
honor,  as  he  would  fain  persuade  himself,  though  in 
truth  he  desired  to  follow  it  because  it  would  bring 
him  nearer  to  her  whom  his  soul  longed  for. 

Then  again  his  pride  rebelled  when  he  thought  of 
the  insult  with  which  she  and  her  father  had  branded 
those  to  whom  he  belonged  by  blood  and  sympathy. 
He  clinched  his  fist  as  he  remembered  the  ruined 
house  of  his  grandfather,  whom  he  had  always  con- 
sidered the  most  reverend  of  men.  Nor  had  he  for- 


52  JOSHUA. 

gotten  his  message.  Miriam  had  said  it  over  to  him 
several  times,  and  his  clear  memory  held  it  word  for 
word ;  also  at  intervals  he  had  repeated  it  over  to 
himself  as  he  wandered  on  the  lonely  way  to  Tanis. 
Now  he  endeavored  to  do  so  again,  but  before  he 
could  get  to  the  end  his  mind  carried  him  back  to 
thoughts  of  Kasana.  The  doctor  had  ordered  Hosea 
to  forbid  any  talking,  so  when  the  patient  tried  to 
deliver  his  message  he  bade  him  be  silent.  Then  the 
soldier  smoothed  his  pillow  as  gently  as  a  mother 
might,  gave  him  his  medicine,  and  kissed  him  on  the 
brow. 

At  last  he  sat  down  by  the  tire  in  front  of  the 
tent,  and  only  rose  to  give  the  youth  a  drink  when 
the  stars  showed  him  that  an  hour  had  passed. 

The  flames  lighted  up  Hosea's  somewhat  dark 
features,  and  showed  them  to  be  those  of  a  man  who 
had  faced  many  dangers,  and  had  vanquished  them 
by  stern  perseverance  and  prudent  reflection.  His 
black  eyes  wore  a  domineering  expression,  and  his 
full,  tightly-closed  mouth  gave  evidence  of  a  hot 
temper,  but  even  more  of  the  iron  will  of  a  deter- 
mined man.  His  broad-shouldered  frame  leaned 
again  a  sheaf  of  spears  set  crossing  each  other  in  the 
ground,  and  when  he  drew  his  powerful  hand  through 
his  thick  black  hair,  or  stroked  his  dark  beard,  while 
his  eyes  lighted  up  with  wrath,  it  might  be  seen  that 
his  soul  was  seething  and  that  he  stood  on  the  thresh- 
old of  some  great  resolve. 

As  yet  the  lion  rests,  but  when  he  springs  up  his 
enemies  must  beware. 


JOSHUA.  53 

His  soldiers  had  often  compared  their  bold,  strong- 
willed  leader,  with  his  mane-like  hair,  to  the  king  of 
beasts ;  and  now  he  shook  his  fist,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  muscles  of  his  brown  arm  swelled  as  though 
they  would  burst  the  gold  bands  that  surrounded 
them,  bright  flames  flashed  from  his  eyes,  and  he 
was  an  unapproachable  and  awesome  presence. 

Out  there  in  the  west,  whither  he  turned  his  gaze, 
lay  the  city  of  the  dead  and  the  ruined  strangers' 
quarters.  A  few  hours  since  he  had  led  his  troops 
past  his  father's  dismantled  house  and  through  the 
deserted  town,  round  which  the  ravens  were  flying. 

Speechless,  for  he  was  still  on  duty,  he  had  passed 
it  by ;  and  it  was  not  until  they  had  halted  that 
quarters  might  be  found  for  his  troops  that  he  learned 
the  events  of  the  previous  night  from  Hornecht,  the 
captain  of  the  archers.  He  had  listened  in  silence 
and  without  moving  a  muscle  or  asking  one  word 
of  further  information,  and  meanwhile  the  soldiers 
had  pitched  the  tents  ;  but  scarcely  had  he  gone  to 
rest  when  a  lame  Hebrew  girl,  in  spite  of  the  threats 
of  the  watch,  forced  her  way  in  and  besought  him, 
in  the  name  of  Eliab,  one  of  the  oldest  slaves  of 
his  house,  whose  granddaughter  she  was,  to  go  with 
her  to  the  old  man.  He  had  been  left  behind,  as 
feebleness  and  ill-health  prevented  his  wandering, 
and  directly  after  the  departure  of  his  people  he  and 
his  wife  had  been  brought  on  an  ass  to  the  little 
cottage  by  the  harbor  which  had  been  given  to  the 
old  servant  by  his  generous  master. 

The  girl,  too,  had  been  left  to  look  after  the  in- 


54  JOSHUA. 

firm  couple,  and  now  the  heart  of  the  old  slave  was 
longing  to  see  once  more  the  first-born  of  his  lord, 
whom  as  a  child  he  had  carried  in  his  arms.  He 
had  bidden  the  girl  tell  the  captain  that  his  father 
had  promised  that  he,  Hosea,  would  leave  the  Egyp- 
tians and  follow  his  people.  The  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
yea,  the  whole  race,  had  heard  the  news  with  great 
rejoicing.  The  grandfather  would  give  him  more 
news,  for  she  herself  had  been  nearly  out  of  her 
mind  with  trouble  and  anxiety.  He  would  deserve 
the  richest  blessings  if  he  would  only  go  with  her. 

The  warrior  perceived  from  the  first  that  he  must 
fulfil  this  wish,  but  he  had  postponed  the  visit  to  the 
old  man  until  the  next  morning.  The  messenger, 
though  in  haste,  managed  to  inform  him  of  several 
things  that  she  had  seen  or  heard  of  from  others. 

At  last  she  was  gone.  He  made  up  the  fire,  and 
as  long  as  the  flames  blazed  brightly  he  looked  with 
a  dark  and  thoughtful  gaze  toward  the  west.  It  was 
not  till  they  had  consumed  the  fuel,  and  only  flickered, 
feeble  and  blue  over  the  charred  wood,  that  he  fixed 
his  eyes  on  the  embers  and  the  flying  sparks,  and  the 
longer  he  did  so  the  deeper  and  more  insurmountable 
did  he  feel  the  discord  in  his  soul,  which  only  yester- 
day had  been  set  on  a  single  glorious  aim. 

For  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  been  far  from  home 
fighting  against  Libyan  rebels,  and  for  fully  ten 
months  he  had  not  heard  a  word  from  his  people. 
A  few  weeks  since  he  had  been  ordered  home,  and 
his  heart  beat  with  joy  and  hopefulness,  and  he,  a 
man  of  thirty,  had  felt  a  boy  again  as  he  drew 


JOSHUA.  55 

nearer  and  nearer  to  Tanis,  the  city  of  Rameses, 
famed  for  its  obelisks. 

In  a  few  hours  he  would  once  more  behold  his  be- 
loved and  worthy  father,  who  had  only  after  deep 
consideration  and  at  the  persuasion  of  his  mother — 
now  long  since  departed  in  peace — allowed  him  to 
follow  his  own  inclinations  and  devote  himself  to 
military  service  and  Pharaoh's  army.  This  very  day 
he  had  hoped  to  surprise  him  with  the  news  that  he 
had  been  promoted  above  other  and  older  captains 
of  Egyptian  race. 

The  neglect  which  Nun  had  feared  for  his  son  had, 
through  his  entire  devotion,  his  valor,  and,  as  he 
modestly  added,  his  good  luck,  been  turned  to 
advancement ;  and  yet  he  had  not  ceased  to  be  a 
Hebrew.  When  in  offering  sacrifice  and  prayer,  he 
had  felt  the  need  of  acknowledging  a  god,  he  had 
worshipped  Set,  into  whose  sanctuary  his  own  father 
had  led  him  as  a  child,  and  whom,  at  that  time,  all 
the  Semitic  race  in  Goshen  had  worshipped.  For 
him,  however,  there  was  another  god,  and  this  was 
not  the  God  of  his  fathers,  but  the  god  who  was  con- 
fessed by  all  those  Egyptians  who  had  received  ini- 
tiation, though  he  remained  hidden  from  the  people, 
who  were  not  able  to  comprehend  him.  It  was  not 
only  the  adepts  that  knew  him,  but  also  most  of 
those  who  were  placed  in  high  positions  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  state  and  in  the  army — whether  they 
were  ministers  of  the  divinity  or  not — and  he  like- 
wise, though  a  stranger  and  not  of  the  initiated. 
All  of  these  knew  what  was  meant  when  allusion 


$6  JOSHUA. 

was  made  to  "  The  God,"  the  "  Sum  of  All,"  the 
' '  Creator  of  Himself  "  or  the  "  Great  One."  Hymns 
praised  him,  epitaphs  which  every  one  could  read 
spoke  of  this,  the  only  god  who  revealed  himself  in 
the  world,  who  was  co-existent  and  co-equal  with  the 
universe,  immanent  in  all  creation,  not  merely  as 
life  exists  in  the  body  of  man,  but  as  being  himself 
the  sum  total  of  created  things,  the  universe  itself  in 
its  perennial  growth,  decay  and  resurrection,  him- 
self obeying  the  laws  he  had  laid  down.  His  essence, 
dwelling  in  every  part  of  himself,  dwelt  likewise  in 
man  ;  and  look  where  he  might,  a  mortal  could  per- 
ceive the  presence  and  action  of  the  One.  Without 
him  nothing  could  be  conceived  of,  and  thus  he  was 
One,  like  the  God  of  his  fathers.  Without  him  noth- 
ing could  come  into  being  nor  any  event  happen 
on  earth.  Thus,  like  the  God  of  Israel,  he  was 
almighty.  Hosea  had  long  been  wont  to  think  of 
these  gods  as  essentially  the  same,  and  differing  only 
in  name.  He  who  worshipped  one  he  deemed  was 
the  servant  of  the  other  ;  and  so  the  captain  of  the 
host  could,  with  a  clear  conscience,  have  stood  before 
his  parent  and  have  told  him  that  he  had  been  as 
faithful  to  the  God  of  his  people  as  he  had  been  as  a 
warrior  in  the  service  of  the  king. 

And  there  was  something  else  which  had  made 
his  heart  beat  faster  and  more  gladly  as  he  saw  from 
afar  the  pylons  and  obelisks  of  Tanis,  for  in  his  end- 
less marches  across  the  silent  desert,  and  in  many  a 
lonely  camp-tent,  the  image  had  haunted  his  vision 
of  a  maiden  of  his  own  people,  whom  he  had  first 


JOSHUA.  57 

known  as  a  strange  child  stirred  by  wondrous 
thoughts,  and  whom  he  had  seen  again  as  a  woman 
grown,  unapproachable  in  her  dignity  and  severe 
beauty,  not  long  before  he  had  last  led  his  host  to 
the  Libyan  war.  She  had  come  from  Succoth  to 
Tanis  to  his  mother's  burial;  her  image  had  been 
deeply  stamped  on  his  heart,  and  his — he  dared  to 
hope — on  hers.  She  had  now  become  a  prophetess, 
hearing  the  voice  of  God.  While  the  other  daugh- 
ters of  Israel  were  strictly  secluded,  she  had  asserted 
her  freedom,  even  among  men  ;  and  in  spite  of  her 
hatred  for  the  Egyptians,  and  for  his  place  among 
them,  she  had  not  concealed  from  ITosea  that  to  part 
from  him  was  grief  and  that  she  would  never  cease  to 
think  of  him.  His  wife,  when  he  should  wed,  must 
be  as  strong  and  grave  as  himself,  and  Miriam  was 
both,  and  cast  another  and  brighter  image,  of  which 
he  once  had  loved  to  dream,  quite  into  the  shade. 

He  was  fond  of  children,  and  a  sweeter  child  than 
Kasana  he  had  never  seen,  either  in  Egypt  or  in 
distant  lands.  The  sympathy  with  which  this  fair 
daughter  of  his  comrade-in-arms  had  watched  his 
achievements  and  his  fortunes,  and  the  modest,  ten- 
der affection  which  the  much-courted  young  widow 
had  since  shown  him,  had  brought  him  much  joy  in 
times  of  peace.  Before  her  marriage  he  had  thought 
of  her  as  growing  up  to  be  his  wife  ;  but  her  union 
with  another  and  her  father's  repeated  declaration 
that  he  would  never  give  his  daughter  to  wife  to  a 
foreigner  had  wounded  his  pride  and  cooled  his  ardor. 
Then  he  had  met  Miriam,  and  she  had  inspired  him 


58  JOSHUA. 

with  a  fervent  desire  to  call  her  his  own.  And 
though,  as  he  marched  homeward,  the  thought  of 
seeing  Kasana  once  more  had  been  pleasing  to  him,  he 
was  well  content  that  he  no  longer  wished  to  marry 
her,  for  it  must  have  led  to  much  vexation.  The 
Egyptians  and  Hebrews  alike  deemed  it  an  abomina- 
tion to  eat  at  each  other's  table,  or  to  use  the  same 
seats  or  knives ;  and  though,  as  a  fellow-soldier  he 
was  accepted  as  one  of  themselves,  and  had  often 
heard  the  young  widow's  father  speak  kindly  of  his 
people,  still  "  the  strangers "  were  hateful  in  the 
sight  of  Hornecht  and  his  household. 

In  Miriam  he  had  found  the  noblest  help-mate. 
Kasana  might  yet  make  another  happy.  Henceforth 
she  could  be  no  more  to  him  than  a  delightful  child, 
from  whom  we  look  for  nothing  but  the  pleasure  of 
her  sweet  presence.  He  had  learned  to  ask  nothing 
of  her  beyond  a  glad  smile,  always  at  his  service. 
Of  Miriam  he  demanded  herself,  in  all  her  lofty 
beauty,  for  he  had  long  enough  endured  the  loneli- 
ness of  a  camp  life,  and  now  that  no  mother's  arms 
were  open  to  the  home-comer  he  felt  the  emptiness 
of  his  single  state.  He  longed  once  more  to  feel 
glad  in  times  of  peace,  when  he  laid  down  his  arms 
after  perils  and  privations  of  every  kind.  It  was  his 
duty  to  take  a  wife  home  to  dwell  under  his  father's 
roof  and  to  provide  that  the  noble  race  of  which  he 
was  the  only  male  descendant  should  not  die  out. 
Ephraim  was  only  his  sister's  son. 

His  heart  uplifted  with  such  glad  thoughts  as 
these,  he  had  £ome  back  to  Tanis,  and  had  almost 


JOSHUA.  59 

reached  the  goal  of  his  hopes  and  wishes,  when  he- 
hold  !  there  lay  before  him,  as  it  were,  a  field  of 
corn  destroyed  by  hail  and  swarms  of  locusts. 

And  as  though  in  mockery,  fate  brought  him  first 
to  what  had  been  the  home  of  his  fathers.  Where 
the  house  had  once  stood  in  which  he  had  grown  up, 
and  for  which  his  heart  had  longed,  there  lay  a  dust- 
heap  of  ruins.  Where  those  near  and  dear  to  him 
had  proudly  watched,  him  depart,  beggars  were 
searching  for  booty  in  the  rubbish. 

Kasana's  father  was  the  first  to  hold  out  a  hand 
to  him  in  Tanis,  and  instead  of  a  glance  of  kindly 
welcome  he  had  from  him  nothing  but  a  tale  of  woe 
that  had  cut  him  to  the  heart.  Pie  had  dreamed  of 
fetching  home  a  wife,  and  the  house  in  which  she 
should  have  been  mistress  was  level  with  the  earth. 
The  father  whose  blessing  he  craved,  and  who  was  to 
have  rejoiced  over  his  promotion,  was  by  this  time 
far  away,  and  the  foe  henceforth  of  the  sovereign  to 
whom  he  himself  owed  his  elevation. 

It  had  been  a  proud  thought  that,  in  spite  of  his 
birth,  he  had  risen  to  power  and  dignity,  and  that 
now,  as  the  leader  of  a  great  army,  he  might  indeed 
show  of  what  great  deeds  he  was  capable.  There 
was  no  lack  of  schemes  in  his  fertile  brain,  plans 
which,  if  they  had  been  ratified  by  the  authorities, 
might  have  led  to  good  issues  ;  and  now  he  was  in  a 
position  to  carry  them  out  at  his  own  pleasure,  and 
be  himself  the  motor-power  instead  of  the  tool.  All 
this  had  roused  a  delightful  exultation  in  his  breast, 
and  had  lent  wings  to  his  feet  on  the  homeward 


60  JOSHUA. 

march  ;  and  now,  when  he  had  reached  the  longed- 
for  goal,  was  he  to  turn  back,  to  become  the  com- 
rade of  shepherds  and  masons?  By  birth,  indeed, 
he  belonged  to  them  (and  how  hard  a  fortune  did 
that  at  this  moment  seem),  though  there  was  no 
denying  that  they  were  now  as  alien  to  him  as  the 
Libyans  against  whom  he  had  taken  the  field.  On 
almost  every  point  for  which  he  cared  he  had  noth- 
ing whatever  in  common  with  them.  To  his  father's 
question  as  to  whether  lie  had  returned  still  a 
Hebrew,  he  had  believed  he  might  truly  answer, 
Yes ;  but  now  he  felt  that  it  would  be  against  his 
will,  a  less  than  half-hearted  adhesion. 

His  soul  clung  to  the  standards  under  which  he  had 
marched  to  battle,  and  which  he  now  might  himself 
lead  to  victory.  Was  it  possible  to  tear  himself  from 
them,  and  forfeit  all  he  had  won  by  his  own  merit? 
But  had  he  not  heard  from  the  grandchild  of  his  old 
slave,  Eliab,  that  his  people  expected  him  to  quit  the 
army  and  follow  them  ?  A  messenger  must  ere 
long  arrive  from  his  father — and  among  the  Hebrews 
a  son  might  not  resist  a  parent's  command. 

Yet  there  was  another  to  whom  he  owed  strict 
obedience — Pharaoh,  to  whom  he  had  sworn  that  he 
would  serve  him  faithfully  and  follow  his  call  with- 
out hesitation  or  reflection,  through  fire  and  water, 
by  night  or  day.  How  many  a  time  had  he  stigma- 
tized a  soldier  who  should  go  over  to  the  foe  or  re- 
bel against  the  orders  of  his  chief  as  a  wretch  devoid 
of  honor,  and  many  a  one  who  had  deserted  from  his 
standard  had  perished  shamefully  on  the  gallows 


JOSHUA.  6l 

under  his  own  eye.  And  should  he  now  commit  the 
crime  for  which  he  had  scorned  others  or  done  them 
to  death?  He  was  known  for  his  swift  decisiveness 
throughout  the  army,  for  even  in  the  greatest  straits 
he  could  arrive  at  the  right  determination  and  reduce 
it  to  action ;  but  in  this  dark  and  lonely  hour  he 
seemed  to  himself  as  a  bending  reed,  as  helpless  as  a 
deserted  orphan. 

A  gnawing  rage  against  himself  possessed  him 
wholly,  and  when  he  presently  thrust  his  spearhead 
into  the  fire,  so  that  the  glowing  brands  fell  in  and 
the  sparks  danced  brightly  up  into  the  night,  it  was 
fury  at  his  own  vacillating  mind  that  spurred  his 
hand. 

If  the  events  of  the  past  night  had  called  him  to 
the  manly  task  of  revenge,  all  hesitation  and  doubt 
would  have  vanished,  and  his  father's  call  would  have 
determined  him  to  act ;  but  who  had  here  been  the 
victims  of  ill-usage  ?  Beyond  doubt  the  Egyptians, 
who  had  been  bereft  by  Moses'  curse  of  thousands  of 
precious  lives,  while  his  people  had  escaped  their 
vengeance  by  flight.  To  find  the  home  of  his  fathers 
destroyed  by  the  Egyptians  had,  indeed,  roused  his 
wrath ;  but  he  saw  no  just  cause  for  a  bloody  re- 
venge when  he  reflected  on  the  unutterable  woe 
which  had  come  upon  Pharaoh  and  his  subjects 
through  the  Hebrews. 

No.  He  had  no  revenge  to  take ;  he  could  only 
look  upon  himself  as  one  who  sees  his  father  and 
mother  in  danger  of  their  lives,  and  knows  that  he 
cannot  save  both,  but  if  he  risks  his  own  life  to  rescue 


62  JOSHUA. 

one  the  other  must  certainly  perish.  If  he  obeyed 
the  call  of  his  people  honor  was  lost — that  honor 
which  he  had  kept  as  bright  as  the  brass  of  his  hel- 
met— and  with  it  all  he  most  hoped  for  in  life ;  if  he 
remained  faithful  to  Pharaoh  he  was  betraying  his 
own  blood,  his  father's  curse  would  darken  the  light 
of  all  his  days,  and  he  must  renounce  all  his  fairest 
dreams  for  the  future ;  for  Miriam  was  a  true  daugh- 
ter of  her  tribe,  and  woe  to  him  if  her  lofty  soul  could 
hate  as  bitterly  as  it  could  love  fervently. 

Her  image  rose  before  his  mind's  eye,  tall  and 
beautiful,  but  with  a  dark  look  and  warning  mien, 
as  he  sat  gazing  across  the  dying  fire  out  into  the 
night ;  and  his  manly  pride  surged  up,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  a  mean  thing  to  risk  everything  that  is  dear 
to  the  warrior's  heart  for  fear  of  a  woman's  wrath 
and  blame. 

"  No,  no,"  he  murmured  to  himself,  and  the  scale 
which  held  duty  and  love  and  filial  obedience  and 
the  ties  of  blood  suddenly  kicked  the  beam.  He 
was  what  he  was — the  captain  of  ten  thousand  in 
the  king's  army.  He  had  sworn  allegiance  to  him 
and  to  none  other.  His  people!  Let  them  run 
away  if  they  chose  from  the  Egyptian  yoke  !  He 
scorned  flight.  Bondage  had  lain  heavy  on  them ; 
but  as  for  him,  the  mightiest  in  the  land  had  treated 
him  as  their  equal  and  held  him  worthy  of  high 
honor.  To  repay  their  good  will  with  treason  and 
desertion  went  against  him,  and  with  a  deep  breath 
he  started  to  his  feet,  feeling  as  though  he  had  chosen 
rightly.  A  woman  and  a  weak  desire  for  love  to 


JOSHUA.  63 

fill  his  heart  should  never  lead  him  to  be  false  to 
grave  duty  and  the  highest  aims  of  his  existence. 

"  I  remain ! "  cried  a  loud  voice  in  his  breast. 
"  My  father  is  wise  and  kind,  and  when  he  hears  my 
reasons  he  will  approve  them,  and  instead  of  cursing 
he  will  bless  me.  I  will  write  to  him,  and  the  boy 
that  Miriam  sent  to  me  shall  be  my  messenger." 

A  cry  from  the  tent  made  him  start ;  looking  at 
the  stars  he  found  he  had  neglected  his  duty  toward 
the  sick  youth  and  went  quickly  to  his  bedside. 

Ephraim  was  sitting  up  expecting  him,  and  cried 
to  him :  "  I  have  been  wanting  you  a  long  time. 
So  mUch  has  passed  through  my  mind,  and,  above 
all,  the  message  from  Miriam.  Till  I  have  delivered 
it  I  shall  not  find  any  rest,  so  hear  me  now." 

Hosea  nodded,  assent,  and  after  the  youth  had 
taken  the  healing  draught  that  he  handed  him,  he 
began : 

"  Miriam,  the  daughter  of  Amram  and  Jochebed, 
sends  greeting  to  the  son  of  Nun,  of  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim.  Hosea,  or  the  Helper,  is  thy  name,  and 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  chosen  thee  to  be  the  helper 
of  his  people.  And  henceforth  thou  shalt  be  called 
Joshua,*  Holpen  of  Jehovah.  For  the  God  of  her 
fathers,  who  is  the  God  of  thy  fathers  also,  hath 
spoken  by  Miriam,  his  handmaid,  commanding  thee 
to  be  the  shield  and  sword  of  thy  people.  In  Him  is 
all  power,  and  His  promise  is  to  strengthen  thine 
arm  that  He  may  smite  the  enemy." 

The  lad  began  in  a  low  tone,  but  his  voice  gradually 
*  Or  more  correctly  Jehoshua. 


64  JOSHUA. 

grew  stronger,  and  the  last  words  rang  loud  and 
solemn  in  the  silence  of  the  night. 

Thus  had  Miriam  spoken  to  him,  and  had  laid  her 
hands  on  his  head  and  looked  earnestly  into  his  eyes 
with  her  own,  which  were  as  black  as  the  night,  and 
as  Ephraim  repeated  her  words  he  had  felt  as  though 
some  secret  power  compelled  him  to  cry  them  aloud 
to  Hosea,  as  he  had  heard  them  from  the  mouth  of 
the  prophetess.  Then  he  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief, 
turned  his  face  to  the  white  canvas  wall  of  the  tent, 
and  said  quietly : 

"  Now  I  will  sleep." 

But  Hosea  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said 
in  commanding  tones  :  "  Say  it  again." 

The  lad  did  his  bidding,  but  this  time  he  repeated 
the  words  unheedingly  and  in  a  low  tone  to  himself. 
Then  he  said  imploringly  :  "  Leave  me  to  rest,"  put 
his  hand  under  his  cheek  and  shut  his  eyes. 

Hosea  let  him  have  his  way.  He  gently  laid  a 
fresh  wet  bandage  over  his  burning  head,  put  out 
the  light  and  cast  more  logs  on  the  dying  fire  outside ; 
but  the  keen,  resolute  man  did  it  all  as  in  a  dream. 
At  last  he  sat  down,  resting  his  elbows  on  his  knees 
and  his  head  on  his  hand,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on 
vacancy  or  gazing  at  the  flames. 

Who  was  this  God  who  called  him  through 
Miriam  to  be,  by  His  aid,  the  sword  and  shield  of 
his  people  ? 

He  was  to  bear  a  new  name,  and  to  the  Egyptians 
the  name  was  the  man.  "  Honor  to  the  name  of 
Pbaraoh ! "  not  "  to  Pharaoh,"  was  written  in  every 


JOSHUA.  65 

inscription  and  document ;  and  if  henceforth  he  was 
to  be  called  Joshua  this  involved  a  command  to  cast 
the  old  man  off  and  to  become  a  new  man.  This 
which  Miriam  had  declared  to  him  as  the  will  of  the 
God  of  his  fathers,  was  nothing  less  that  a  bidding  to 
cease  to  He  an  Egyptian,  as  his  life  had  made  him, 
and  become  a  Hebrew  again,  as  he  had  been  as  a 
boy. 

He  must  learn  to  act  and  feel  as  a  Hebrew. 

And  Miriam's  message  required  him  to  go  back 
to  his  own  tribe.  The  God  of  his  nation,  through 
her,  bade  him  to  do  what  his  father  expected  of 
him.  Instead  of  the  Egyptian  host,  which  he  must 
now  leave,  henceforth  he  should  lead  the  sons  of 
Israel  w^hen  they  went  forth  to  battle ;  this  was 
the  meaning  of  her  words ;  and  when  that  high-souled 
maiden  and  prophetess  declared  that  it  was  God 
Himself  who  spoke  by  her  mouth,  it  was  no  vain 
boast ;  she  was  certainly  obeying  the  voice  of  the 
Most  High.  And  now  the  image  of  the  woman 
whom  he  had  dared  to  love  appeared  to  him  as  un- 
approachably sublime  ;  many  things  which  he  had 
heard  in  his  childhood  of  the  God  of  Abraham  and 
His  promises,  recurred  to  his  mind ;  and  the  scale 
which  till  now  had  been  the  heavier  gradually  rose. 
What  had  but  just  now  seemed  firmly  settled  was 
no  longer  sure,  and  once  more  he  stood  face  to  face 
with  the  fearful  gulf  which  he  fancied  he  had  over- 
leaped. 

How  loud  and  mighty  was  the  call  he  had  heard  ! 
The  sound  in  his  ears  disturbed  his  clearness  and 
5 


66  JOSHUA. 

peace  of  mind.  Instead  of  calmly  weighing  the 
matter  as  he  had  done  before,  memories  of  his  boy- 
hood, which  he  had  fancied  long  since  buried,  lifted 
up  their  voices  and  disconnected  flashes  of  thought 
confused  his  brain. 

Sometimes  he  felt  prompted  to  turn  in  prayer  to 
the  God  who  called  him,  but  as  often  as  he  made 
the  attempt  he  remembered  the  oath  he  must  break, 
and  the  vast  host  he  must  leave  behind  him,  to  be- 
come the  leader,  no  more  of  a  well-trained,  brave, 
obedient  troop  of  brothers-in-arms,  but  of  a  miser- 
able horde  of  cowardly  serfs  and  wild,  obstinate 
shepherds  accustomed  to  the  rule  of  oppression. 

It  was  three  hours  past  midnight.  The  men  on 
guard  had  been  relieved,  and  he  began  to  think  of 
giving  himself  a  few  hours'  rest.  He  would  think 
the  matter  out  again  by  daylight  with  his  wonted 
rational  decisiveness,  which  he  now  felt  he  could 
not  attain  to.  But  as  he  entered  the  tent,  and 
Ephraim's  steady  breathing  fell  on  his  ear,  in  fancy 
he  heard  again  the  lad's  solemn  delivery  of  his 
message.  It  startled  him,  and  he  was  about  to 
repeat  the  words  to  himself  when  he  heard  a  tumult 
among  the  outposts,  and  a  vehement  dispute  broke 
the  stillness  of  the  night. 

The  interruption  was  welcome.  He  hurried  out 
to  where  the  guards  were  posted. 


JOSHUA.  67 


CHAPTER  YL 

HOGLAH,  the  grand-daughter  of  the  old  slave 
Eliab,  had  come  to  entreat  Hosea  to  go  with  her 
forthwith  to  see  her  grandfather,  whose  strength  had 
suddenly  failed  him,  and  who,  feeling  death  near  at 
hand,  could  not  die  without  seeing  him  and  blessing 
him  once  more.  So  the  captain  bade  her  wait,  and 
after  assuring  himself  that  Ephraim  slept  peacefully, 
he  charged  a  man  he  could  trust  to  keep  watch  over 
the  lad,  and  went  with  Hoglah. 

As  she  led  the  way  she  carried  a  small  lantern, 
and  when  the  light  fell  on  the  girl's  face  and  figure, 
he  saw  how  ill-favored  she  was,  for  slave's  toil  had 
bent  the  poor  child's  back  before  its  time.  Her 
voice  had  the  rough  tones  which  a  woman's  tongue 
often  acquires  Avhen  her  strength  is  too  unsparingly 
taxed;  but  all  she  said  was  loving  and  kind,  and 
Hosea  forgot  her  appearance  as  she  told  him  that 
she  had  a  lover  among  the  men  who  had  gone  forth, 
but  that  she  had  remained  behind  with  her  grand- 
parents, for  she  could  not  bring  herself  to  leave  the 
old  folks  alone ;  that  as  she  was  not  fair  to  look 
upon,  no  man  had  coveted  her  as  his  wife  till  Asser 
had  come,  and  he  did  not  look  to  appearances,  be- 


68  JOSHUA. 

cause  he  was  hard-working,  as  she  herself  was,  and 
had  expected  that  she  would  help  to  save  his  earn- 
ings. He  would  have  been  willing  to  stay  behind 
with  her,  but  his  father  had  commanded  him  to  set 
out  with  him  ;  so  he  had  no  choice,  but  must  obey 
and  part  from  her  forever. 

The  tale  was  simply  told,  and  in  a  harsh  accent, 
but  struck  to  the  heart  of  the  man  who,  for  his 
part,  meant  to  go  his  own  way  in  opposition  to  his 
father. 

As  they  presently  came  in  sight  of  the  harbor, 
and  Hosea  looked  down  on  the  quays  and  the  huge 
fortified  storehouses,  built  by  the  hands  of  his  own 
people,  he  thought  once  more  of  the  ragged  troops 
of  laborers  whom  he  had  so  often  seen  cringing  be- 
fore the  Egyptian  overseer,  or  again,  fighting  madly 
among  themselves.  He  had  marked,  too,  that  they 
did  not  hesitate  to  lie  and  cheat  in  order  to  escape 
their  toil,  and  how  hard  it  was  to  compel  them  to 
obey  and  do  their  duty  ! 

The  more  odious  objects  among  these  hapless 
hundreds  rose  clearly  before  his  mind,  and  the 
thought  that  perhaps  his  fate  in  the  future  might  be 
to  lead  such  a  wretched  crew  came  over  him  as  a 
disgrace  which  the  humblest  of  his  subalterns,  the 
captain  of  fifty,  would  fain  be  spared.  There  were, 
of  course,  among  the  mercenaries  of  Pharaoh's  armies 
many  Hebrews  who  had  won  a  reputation  for  courage 
and  endurance,  but  these  were  the  sons  of  owners 
of  herds  or  of  men  who  had  been  shepherds.  The 
toiling  multitude  whose  clay  hovels  could  be  over- 


JOSHUA.  69 

turned  with  a  kick  formed  the  greater  mass  of  those 
to  whom  he  was  bidden  to  return. 

Firmly  resolved  to  remain  faithful  to  the  oath 
which  bound  him  to  the  standard  of  the  Egyptian 
host,  and  yet  stirred  to  the  depths  of  his  soul,  he 
entered  the  slave's  hut,  and  his  vexation  was  in- 
creased when  he  found  the  old  man  sitting  up  and 
mixing  some  wine  and  water  with  his  own  hand. 
So  he  had  been  brought  away  from  his  nephew's 
bedside  on  a  false  pretence,  and  deprived  of  his  own 
night's  rest  that  a  slave,  who,  in  his  eyes,  was 
scarcely  a  man  at  all,  should  have  his  way  !  Here 
he  himself  was  the  victim  of  a  trick  of  that  cunning 
selfishness  which,  in  the  Egyptian's  eyes,  was  the 
reproach  of  his  people,  and  which,  indeed,  did  not 
attract  him  to  them.  But  the  wrath  of  the  clear- 
sighted and  upright  man  was  soon  appeased  as  he 
saw  the  girl's  unfeigned  delight  at  her  grandfather's 
rapid  recovery  ;  and  he  then  learned  from  the  aged 
wife  that  Hoglah  had  hardly  set  out  on  her  quest 
when  they  remembered  that  they  had  some  wine  in 
the  house,  and  after  the  first  draught  her  husband 
got  better  and  better,  though  she  had  before  thought 
he  had  one  foot  already  in  the  grave.  Now  he  was 
mixing  some  more  of  the  blessed  gift  to  strengthen 
himself  with  a  draught  of  it  every  now  and  then. 

Here  the  old  man  himself  broke  in,  and  said  that 
he  owed  this  and  much  that  was  better  to  the  good- 
ness of  Nun,  Hosea's  father ;  for  besides  this  hut, 
and  wine  and  meal  for  bread,  he  had  given  him  a 
milch  cow  and  likewise  an  ass,  on  which  he  could 


TO  JOSHUA. 

often  ride  out  and  take  the  air,  and  he  had  left  him 
his  grand-daughter  and  some  silver,  so  that  they 
could  look  forward  with  contentment  to  their  end ; 
all  the  more  so  as  they  had  a  patch  of  land  behind 
the  house,  which  Hoglah  would  sow  with  radishes, 
onions  and  leeks  for  their  pottage.  But  best  of  all 
was  the  written  deed  which  made  them  and  the  girl 
free  forever.  Aye,  Nun  was  a  true  lord  and  father 
to  his  people,  and  his  good  gifts  had  brought  with 
them  the  blessing  of  the  Most  High,  for  immediately 
after  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews,  by  the  help  of 
Asser,  Hoglah's  betrothed,  he  and  his  wife  had  been 
conveyed  hither  without  any  demur  or  difficulty. 

"  We  old  folks,"  the  old  woman  added,  "  will  die 
here.  But  Asser  has  promised  Hoglah  to  come  back 
for  her  when  she  has  done  her  duty  to  her  parents 
to  the  very  last."  And  turning  to  the  girl  she  said 
in  an  encouraging  tone  :  "  And  it  cannot  be  for  much 
longer  now." 

At  this  Hoglah  began  to  wipe  her  eyes  with  the 
skirt  of  her  blue  gown,  and  cried :  "  Long,  long  may 
it  be !  I  am  young.  I  can  wait." 

Hosea  heard  the  words,  and  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  the  poor,  ill-favored,  deserted  girl  was  giving 
him  a  lesson. 

He  had  let  the  old  folks  talk  on,  but  his  time 
was  precious,  and  he  now  asked  whether  it  was  for 
any  special  cause  that  Eliab  had  sent  for  him. 

"I  could  not  help  sending,"  was  the  answer, 
"  and  not  only  to  ease  the  longing  of  my  old  heart, 
but  because  my  lord  Nun  had  bidden  me  to  do  so. 


JOSHUA.  71 

"  Great  and  noble  is  thy  manhood,  and  now  art 
thou  become  the  hope  of  Israel !  Thy  father,  too, 
hath  promised  the  men  and  women  of  his  house  that 
after  his  death  thou  shalt  be  their  lord  and  their 
head.  His  speech  was  full  of  thy  glory,  and  great 
was  the  rejoicing  when  he  declared  that  thou  wouldst 
follow  the  departing  tribes.  And  I  am  he  whom 
my  lord  vouchsafed  to  command  that,  if  thou 
shouldst  return  before  his  messenger  could  reach 
thee,  I  was  to  say  that  Nun,  thy  father,  awaited  his 
son.  Whithersoever  thy  people  go  it  is  for  thee  to 
follow.  By  sunrise,  or  more  nearly  at  midday,  thy 
people  shall  stay  to  rest  by  Succpth.  He  would  hide 
a  writing  in  the  hollow  sycamore  before  the  house 
of  Aminadab,  which  should  tell  thee  whither  next 
they  take  their  way.  His  blessing  and  the  blessing 
of  our  God  be  with  thee  in  the  way  !  " 

As  the  old  man  pronounced  the  last  words  Hosea 
bent  his  head,  as  though  to  invite  an  invisible  hand 
to  rest  on  it.  Then  he  thanked  the  old  man  and 
asked  in  a  subdued  voice  whether  all  had  been  will- 
'ing  to  obey  the  call  to  quit  house  and  home. 

The  old  woman  clasped  her  hands,  exclaiming : 
"  No,  no,  my  lord  ;  by  no  means.  What  a  wailing 
and  a  weeping  there  was  before  they  went  away ! 
Many  rebelled,  others  escaped  or  sought  some  hole 
or  corner  wherein  to  hide.  But  in  vain.  In  the 
house  of  our  neighbor  Deguel — you  know  him — his 
young  wife  had  been  lately  brought  to  bed  with  a 
boy,  her  first-born.  What  would  become  of  the 
poor  creature  on  the  journey  ?  At  first  she  wept 


72  JOSHUA. 

bitterly  and  her  husband  blasphemed,  but  there  was 
no  help  for  it.  She  and  her  infant  were  laid  in  a 
cart,  and  as  things  went  forward  they  got  over  it, 
he  and  she  both,  like  all  the  rest ;  even  Phineas,  who 
crept  into  a  pigeon-house  with  his  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren, and  even  old  crippled  Graveyard  Keziah — you 
remember  her,  Adonai? — she  had  seen  her  father 
and  mother  die,  her  husband,  and  then  five  well- 
grown  sons ;  everything  the  Lord  had  given  her  to 
love,  and  had  laid  them  one  after  another  in  our 
graveyard;  and  every  morning  and  evening  she 
would  go  to  their  resting-place,  and  as  she  sat  there 
on  a  log  of  wood  which  she  had  rolled  close  to  the 
tombstone  her  lips  would  always  be  moving;  but 
what  she  muttered  was  not  prayer  ;  no — I  have  list- 
ened to  her  many  a  time  when  she  did  not  heed  me 
—no ;  she  talked  with  the  dead  as  if  they  could 
hear  her  in  the  tomb,  and  could  understand  her 
speech  like  those  who  live  in  the  light  of  the  sun. 
She  is  nigh  upon  threescore  years  old,  and  for  three 
times  seven  years  she  has  been  known  to  the  folk 
about  as  Graveyard  Keziah.  It  was  a  senseless  way 
she  had,  but  for  that  very  reason  perhaps  it  was 
doubly  hard  to  her  to  give  it  up ;  and  she  would  not 
go,  but  hid  away  behind  the  shrubs.  When  Ahiezer, 
the  head  of  her  house,  dragged  her  forth,  her  wail- 
ing was  enough  to  make  your  heart  ache.  But  when 
it  came  to  the  last  she  plucked  up  courage  and  could 
not  bear  to  stay  behind  any  more  than  the  rest." 

"  "What  had  come  over  the  poor  wretches  ?     What 
possessed  them  ?  "    Hosea  here  broke  in,  interrupting 


JOSHUA.  73 

the  old  woman's  flow  of  words ;  for  his  fancy  again 
pictured  the  people  that  he  ought  to,  nay,  that  he 
must  lead,  as  surely  as  he  held  his  father's  blessing 
of  price  above  all  else ;  and  he  saw  them  in  all 
their  misery.  The  old  Avoman  started,  and,  fearing 
lest  she  might  have  angered  the  first-born  son  of 
her  master,  this  proud  and  lordly  warrior,  she  stam- 
mered out : 

"  What  possessed  them,  my  lord  ?  Aye,  well — I 
am  but  a  poor,  simple  slave  woman  ;  but  indeed,  my 
lord,  if  you  had  but  been  there  also — 

"  "Well,  what  then  ? "  cried  the  soldier  roughly 
and  impatiently ;  for  now,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  he  found  himself  compelled  to  act  against  his 
inclinations  and  convictions. 

At  this  the  old  man  tried  to  come  to  his  wife's 
rescue,  saying,  timidly  : 

Kay,  my  lord,  tongue  cannot  tell  of  it,  nor  the 
understanding  conceive  of  it.  It  came  upon  Israel 
from  the  Lord,  and  even  if  I  could  describe  how 
mightily  He  worked  in  the  souls  of  the  people — 

"  Try,"  said  Hosea,  "  but  my  time  is  short.  Then 
they  were  forced  to  depart  ?  It  was  against  their 
will  that  they  took  up  their  staff  ?  That  they  have 
followed  Moses  and  Aaron  for  some  time  past,  as 
sheep  follow  the  shepherd,  is  known  even  to  the 
Egyptians.  And  have  those  men,  who  brought 
down  the  pestilence  on  so  many  innocent  beings, 
worked  a  miracle  to  blind  the  eyes  of  you  and  your 
wife  here  ? " 

The  old  man  lifted  supplicating  hands  to  the  war- 


74  JOSHUA. 

rior,  and  replied,  much  troubled,  in  a  tone  of  hum- 
ble entreaty :  "  Oh,  my  lord,  you  are  the  first-born 
son  of  my  master,  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  his 
house,  and  if  you  will  you  can  tread  me  in  the  dust 
like  a  beetle ;  and  yet  will  I  lift  up  my  voice  and 
tell  you  they  have  told  you  falsely.  You  have  been 
among  strangers  all  this  year  while  mighty  signs 
have  been  wrought  upon  us.  You  were  far  from 
Zoan,*  as  I  have  heard,  when  the  people  went  forth. 
For  any  son  of  our  race  who  had  beheld  this  thing 
that  his  tongue  should  wither  in  his  mouth  than 
laugh  to  scorn  the  mighty  things  which  the  Lord 
has  vouchsafed  to  us  to  behold.  If  you  had  patience, 
indeed,  and  could  grant  me  to  tell  the  story " 

"  Speak,"  cried  Hosea,  amazed  at  the  old  man's 
fervor ;  and  Eliab  thanked  him  with  a  glowing 
look,  and  cried : 

"  Ah !  would  that  Aaron,  or  Eleazar,  or  my  lord 
]STun,  your  father,  "were  here  ;  or  that  the  Most  High 
would  grant  me  the  gift  of  their  speech  !  But  as  it 
is,  well.  And,  indeed,  meseems  as  though  I  saw  and 
heard  it  all,  as  though  it  were  all  happening  again ; 
and  yet  how  may  I  tell  it  ?  But  by  God's  help  I 
Avill  try." 

He  paused,  and  as  Hosea  saw  that  the  old  man's 
lips  and  hands  trembled,  he  himself  reached  him  the 
cup,  and  the  old  man  thankfully  emptied  it  to  the 
bottom.  Then  he  began  with  half-closed  eyes  and 
his  wrinkled  features  grew  more  keenly  eager  as  he 
proceeded  with  his  tale  : 

*  The  Hebrew  name  for  Tanis. 


JOSHUA.  75 

"  What  befell  after  that  it  became  known  what 
command  had  come  to  the  people,  my  wife  has  al- 
ready told  you,  and  we,  too,  were  among  those  who 
lost  heart  and  murmured.  But  last  night  we  all 
who  were  of  the  house  of  Nun  were  bidden  to  the 
feast — even  the  shepherds  and  the  slaves  and  the 
poor — and  there  we  ate  of  roast  lamb  and  fresh  un- 
leavened bread,  and  had  plenty  of  wine,  more  than 
usual  at  the  harvest  festival  which  begins  on  that 
night,  and  which  you  yourself  have  often  witnessed 
as  a  boy.  There  we  sat  and  enjoyed  ourselves,  and 
my  lord,  your  father,  spoke  words  of  encourage- 
ment and  told  us  of  the  God  of  our  fathers  and  of 
the  great  things  lie  had  done  for  his  people.  Now, 
said  he,  it  was  the  Lord's  will  that  we  should  set 
forth  and  depart  out  of  this  land,  where  we  have 
borne  contempt  and  bondage.  This  was  no  such 
sacrifice  as  that  for  which  Abraham  had  sharpened 
his  knife  to  shed  the  blood  of  his  son  Isaac  withal, 
at  the  bidding  of  the  Most  High,  although  it  would 
fall  hardly  on  us  to  leave  a  home  grown  dear  to  us 
and  many  an  old  custom.  Nay,  it  would  at  last 
bring  much  happiness  on  us  all.  For,  cried  he,  we 
were  not  to  wander  forth  into  the  unknown,  but  to- 
ward a  lordly  land  which  God  himself  had  set  be- 
fore us.  He  had  promised  us  a  new  home  instead 
of  this  land  of  bondage,  where  we  should  dwell  as 
free  men  on  fruitful  meadows  and  find  rich  pastures 
where  a  man  and  his  household  might  be  fed  and 
their  hearts  made  glad.  Just  as  a  man  must  work 
hard  to  earn  his  wage,  so  were  we  to  endure  a  brief 


76  JOSHUA. 

space  of  privation  and  sorrow  to  earn  that  beautiful 
new  home  for  ourselves  and  our  children,  as  the 
Lord  had  promised.  A  land  of  God  it  must  surely 
be,  since  it  was  the  gift  of  the  Most  High. 

"  Thus  he  spoke,  and  thus  he  blessed  us  all,  and 
promised  that  you,  too,  would  shake  the  dust  from 
off  your  feet  and  join  yourself  to  the  people,  and 
fight  for  them  with  a  strong  arm  as  an  experienced 
warrior  and  an  obedient  son. 

"  Hereupon  we  all  shouted  for  joy ;  and  when  we 
were  all  gathered  in  the  market-place  and  found 
that  all  the  bondsmen  had  been  able  to  escape  from 
the  overseers  our  courage  rose.  Then  came  Aaron 
into  our  midst  and  stood  upon  the  salesman's  bench, 
and  all  that  my  lord  Nun  had  spoken  at  the  feast 
we  now  heard  from  his  lips,  and  the  Avords  he  spoke 
sounded  now  like  rolling  thunder  and  now  like  the 
sweet  tones  of  the  lute,  and  we  all  knew  that  it 
was  the  Lord  our  God  who  spoke  by  him,  for  he 
touched  the  hearts  even  of  the  rebellious,  so  that 
they  murmured  and  complained  no  more.  And 
when  at  last  he  proclaimed  to  the  multitude  that  no 
erring  man,  but  the  Lord  God  himself,  would  be 
our  Captain  ;  when  he  described  the  beauty  of  the 
promised  land,  whose  gates  He  would  open  before 
us  and  where  we  should  dwell  as  free  and  happy 
men,  released  from  all  bondage,  owing  no  obedience 
to  any  but  to  the  God  of  our  fathers  and  those 
whom  we  may  choose  for  our  leaders,  it  was  as 
though  every  man  there  was  drunk  with  new  wine, 
and  as  if  the  way  that  lay  before  them,  instead  of  a 


JOSHUA.  77 

barren  track  across  the  desert  into  the  unknown, 
led  to  a  great  feast  spread  for  them  by  the  Most 
High  Himself.  Nay,  and  even  those  who  had  not 
heard  Aaron's  words  were  likewise  tilled  with  mar- 
vellous confidence,  and  men  and  women  were  all 
more  cheerful  and  noisy  than  their  wont  at  the  har- 
vest feast,  for  all  hearts  overflowed  with  pure  thank- 
fulness. It  even  seized  the  old  folks.  Old  Elish- 
ama,  the  father  of  Nun,  who  is  a  hundred  years  old, 
and  as  you  know  has  long  sat  bent  and  silent  in  his 
seat,  rose  up  with  a  light  in  his  eyes  and  spoke  fiery 
words.  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  had  come  upon  him 
as  upon  us  all. 

"I  felt  myself  quite  young  again  in  body  and 
soul,  and  as  I  passed  by  the  host  as  it  made  ready 
for  its  departing  I  saw  Elisheba  with  her  babe  in  a 
litter,  and  she  looked  as  happy  as  on  the  day  of  her 
marriage,  and  pressed  her  infant  to  her  heart  and 
blessed  his  lot  in  growing  up  in  the  Promised  Land 
and  free.  And  her  husband,  Deguel,  who  had  blas- 
phemed the  loudest,  swung  his  staff  and  kissed  his 
wife  and  child  with  tears  of  joy  in  his  eyes,  and 
shouted  for  joy  like  a  vintager  at  the  pressing  when 
jars  and  wine  skins  are  too  small  to  hold  the  bless- 
ing. The  old  woman,  too,  Graveyard  Keziah,  who 
had  torn  herself  away  from  the  tombs  of  her  race, 
sat  with  other  feeble  folk  in  a  chariot,  and  waved 
her  veil  and  joined  in  the  hymn  of  praise  which 
Elkanah  and  Abiasaph,  the  sons  of  Korah,  had  be- 
gun. And  thus  they  set  forth.  We  who  were  left 
behind  fell  into  each  other's  arms,  and  knew  not 


78  JOSHUA. 

whether  the  tears  we  shed  flowed  from  our  eyes  for 
grief  or  for  overjoy  at  seeing  the  multitude  of  those 
we  loved  so  glad  and  full  of  hope.  Thus  it  came 
to  pass. 

"  Pitch  torches  were  carried  in  front  of  the  multi- 
tude, seeming  to  light  it  up  more  brightly  than  the 
great  blaze  of  lamps  which  the  Egyptians  light  up 
at  the  gates  of  the  temple  to  TsTeith,  and  it  was  not 
till  they  were  swallowed  up  in  the  darkness  that  we 
set  forth,  so  as  not  to  keep  Asser  too  long  behind  the 
rest.  As  we  made  our  way  through  the  night,  the 
streets  were  full  of  the  mourning  cry  of  the  citizens, 
but  we  sang  softly  the  hymn  of  the  sons  of  Korah, 
and  great  joy  and  peace  fell  upon  us,  for  we  knew 
that  the  Lord  our  God  would  keep  and  lead  His 
people." 

Here  the  old  man  ceased,  but  his  wife  and  the  girl, 
who  had  hearkened  to  him  with  eager  eyes,  drew 
,closer  to  each  other,  and  without  any  word  between 
them  they  both  together  began  the  hymn  of  praise, 
and  the  old  woman's  thin  voice  mingled  with  pathetic 
fervor  with  the  harsh  tones  of  the  girl,  ennobled  as 
they  were  by  lofty  enthusiasm. 

Hosea  felt  that  it  would  be  wicked  to  break  in  on 
this  overflow  of  full  hearts,  but  the  old  man  presently 
bade  them  cease  and  looked  up  at  his  master's  first- 
born son  with  anxious  inquiry  in  his  grave  features. 

Had  Hosea  understood  ? 

Had  he  made  it  plain  to  this  warrior  who  served 
Pharaoh  how  that  the  Lord  God  himself  had  ruled 
the  souls  of  His  people  at  their  departing  ? 


JOSHUA.  79 

Was  Hosea  so  fallen  away  from  his  own  nation 
and  their  God,  so  led  away  by  the  Egyptians,  that 
he  Avould  dare  to  defy  the  wishes  and  commands  of 
his  own  father  ? 

Was  he,  on  whom  he  had  set  the  highest  hopes,  a 
deserter  and  lost  to  his  own  people  ? 

To  these  questions  he  might  have  no  answer  in 
words ;  but  when  Hosea  took  his  horny  old  hand  be- 
tween his  own  and  shook  it  as  that  of  a  friend,  when 
he  bade  him  farewell,  his  eyes  glistened  with  moisture, 
and  murmured,  "  You  shall  hear  of  me !  "  he  felt 
that  this  was  enough,  and  overcome  by  vehement 
joy  he  kissed  the  soldier's  arm  and  clothing  again 
and  again. 


80  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HOSEA  returned  to  his  tent  with  a  bowed  head. 
The  discord  in  his  soul  was  resolved.  He  knew  now 
what  burden  he  must  take  up.  His  father  called  him 
and  he  must  obey. 

And  the  God  of  his  people !  As  he  listened  to 
the  old  man's  tale,  all  he  had  heard  of  that  God  in 
his  childhood  reawakened  in  his  soul,  and  he  knew 
now  that  he  was  another  than  Set,  the  God  of  the 
Asiatics,  in  Lower  Egypt ;  and  another  than  the 
"  One,"  the  "  Sum  of  All,"  of  the  Adepts.  The 
prayer  he  had  been  wont  to  say  on  going  to  rest,  the 
story  of  the  Creation  which  he  had  never  been  weary 
of  hearing,  because  it  so  plainly  showed  how  every- 
thing which  existed  in  heaven  and  on  earth  had 
gradually  come  into  being  till  man  came  to  take  pos- 
session of  it  and  to  enjoy  it  all ;  the  history  of  his 
Father  Abraham,  of  Isaac  and  Jacob,  Esau  and  his 
own  forefather  Joseph — how  gladly  had  he  hearkened 
to  all  this  as  it  was  told  him  by  the  gentle  mother 
who  had  borne  him,  by  his  nurse  and  his  grandfather, 
Elishama  ;  and  yet  he  seemed  long  since  to  have  for- 
gotten it.  But  under  the  old  slave's  humble  roof  he 
could  have  repeated  the  tale  word  for  word,  and  he 
now  knew  of  a  surety  that  there  was  indeed  one 


JOSHUA.  8l 

God,  Invisible,  Almighty,  who  had  chosen  Israel  to 
be  His  own  people  and  had  promised  to  make  them 
a  great  nation.  That  which  the  Egyptian  priest- 
hood kept  secret  as  the  greatest  mystery  was  the 
common  possession  of  His  people ;  every  beggar, 
every  slave  might  lift  his  hands  in  prayer  to  the  one 
invisible  God  who  had  revealed  Himself  to  Abraham 
and  promised  him  great  things.  Over-wise  heads 
among  the  Egyptians,  who  had  divined  His  existence 
and  overlaid  His  essence  with  the  monstrous  births 
of  their  own  imaginings  and  their  own  thoughts,  had 
shrouded  Him  in  a  thick  veil  and  hidden  Him  from 
the  multitude.  It  was  only  among  His  chosen  people 
that  He  lived  and  showed  forth  His  power  in  its 
mighty  and  awful  greatness. 

This  God  was  not  nature,  though  the  initiated  in 
the  temples  confounded  them :  no,  the  God  of  his 
fathers  was  enthroned  on  high,  above  all  created 
things  and  the  visible  universe,  above  man,  His  last 
and  most  perfect  work,  created  in  His  own  image  j 
and  all  creatures  were  subject  to  His  will.  He,  the 
King  of  Kings,  ruled  all  that  had  life  with  just  se- 
verity ;  and  although  He  hid  Himself  from  the  sight 
of  man  who  was  His  image,  and  was  beyond  man's 
apprehension,  yet  was  He  a  living,  thinking  and 
active  Being,  even  as  men  were,  save  that  his  term 
of  life  was  eternity,  His  mind  was  omniscience,  His 
realm  was  infinity. 

And  this  God  had  instituted  Himself  the  leader  of 
His  people.  There  was  no  captain  who  could  dare 
to  defy  His  power.  If  Miriam  were  not  deceived 


82  JOSHUA. 

by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  if  He  had  indeed 
called  Hosea  to  be  His  sword,  how  could  he  resist, 
or  what  higher  place  could  he  fill  on  earth  ? 

And  his  people  ?  The  rabble  crowd  of  whom  he 
had  thought  with  scorn,  how  transfigured  they 
seemed  by  the  power  of  the  Most  High  now  that  he 
had  heard  old  Eliab's  tale  !  Now  he  only  longed  to 
lead  them ;  and  on  his  way  back  to  the  camp  he 
stayed  his  steps  on  a  sandy  knoll  from  whence  he 
could  see  the  limitless  waters  gleaming  under  the 
light  of  the  lamps  of  heaven,  and  for  the  first  time 
for  many  long  years,  uplifted  his  arms  and  eyes  to 
the  God  whom  he  had  found  again. 

He  began  with  a  simple  prayer  which  his  mother 
had  taught  him ;  but  then  he  cried  to  the  Lord  as  a 
mighty  counsellor,  and  besought  Him  with  fervent 
entreaty  to  show  him  the  way  in  which  he  should 
walk  without  being  disobedient  to  his  father,  or 
breaking  the  oath  he  had  sworn  to  the  King,  or  be- 
coming a  traitor  in  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom  he 
owed  so  much. 

"  Thy  people  glorify  Thee  as  the  God  of  truth, 
punishing  those  who  break  their  oath  ! "  he  cried. 
"  How  canst  Thou  bid  me  to  be  faithless,  and  to  be 
false  to  the  pledge  I  have  given  ?  All  I  am  or  can 
do  is  Thine,  O  Lord,  and  I  am  ready  to  give  my 
blood  and  my  life  for  my  brethren.  But  rather  than 
cast  me  into  dishonor  and  perjury  let  me  die  and 
give  the  task  Thou  hast  chosen  me,  Thy  servant, 
to  do,  to  a  free  man  bound  by  no  oath." 


JOSHUA.  83 

Thus  he  prayed,  and  he  felt  as  though  he  clasped 
in  his  arms  a  friend  whom  he  had  accounted  as  lost. 
Then  he  walked  on  in  silence  through  the  diminish- 
ing darkness, 'and  as  the  gr^ay  dawn  stole  up,  the 
high  tide  of  passion  ebbed  in  his  soul,  and  the  clear- 
headed warrior  could  think  calmly. 

He  had  vowed  to  do  nothing  against  the  will  of 
his  father  or  his  God,  but  he  was  no  less  resolved 
never  to  be  a  traitor  and  oathbreaker.  What  he 
had  to  do  he  now  saw  plainly  and  clearly.  He  must 
quit  Pharaoh's  service,  and  declare  before  the  face 
of  his  superiors  that  as  a  dutiful  son  he  must  obey 
the  commands  of  his  father  and  go  forth  to  share  his 
fortunes  and  the  fortunes  of  his  people. 

But  he  did  not  conceal  from  himself  that  his  de- 
mand might  be  refused,  that  he  might  be  kept  back 
by  force — perhaps,  if  he  persisted  unmoved  in  his 
resolve,  be  threatened  with  death,  or,  if  it  came  to 
the  worst,  be  handed  over  to  the  executioner.  But 
even  if  this  should  be  his  doom,  if  his  deed  cost  him 
his  life,  he  would  have  done  what  was  right,  and  his 
comrades  in  arms,  whose  esteem  was  dear  to  him, 
would  still  think  of  him  as  their  worthy  mate ;  his 
father  and  Miriam  would  not  be  wroth  with  him  ; 
nay,  but  would  mourn  for  the  faithful  son,  the  true 
man  who  preferred  death  to  treason. 

Calm  and  elevated  in  spirit,  he  gave  the  watch- 
word to  the  sentry  with  proud  composure,  and  went 
into  his  tent. 

Ephraim  still  lay  sleeping,  and  smiling  as  though 
wrapped  in  sweet  dreams.  Hosea  lay  down  on  a 


84  JOSHUA. 

mat  near  him  to  seek  strength  for  the  hard  day  be- 
fore him.  His  eyes  soon  closed,  'and  after  sleeping 
an  hour  he  awoke  of  his  own  accord  and  called  for 
his  handsomest  raiment,  his  helmet  and  gilt  armor 
which  he  was  wont  to  wear  only  at  high  festivals  or 
in  the  King's  presence. 

Meanwhile  Ephraim,  too,  awoke,  gazed  at  his 
uncle  from  head  to  foot  Avith  delighted  curiosity  as 
he  stood  before  him  in  stalwart  manliness,  and  shin- 
ing, warlike  splendor,  and  cried  as  he  started  up : 

"  It  must  be  a  fine  thing  to  be  dressed  like  that 
and  feel  oneself  to  be  the  leader  of  thousands  !  " 

The  elder  man  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  re- 
plied : 

"  Obey  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  give  no  man, 
whether  great  or  small,  the  right  to  regard  you  with 
anything  but  respect,  and  then  you  may  carry  your 
head  as  high  as  the  proudest  hero  in  his  purple  robe 
and  gilt  breastplate." 

"  But  you  have  done  great  things  among  the 
Egyptians,"  the  lad  went  on  ;  "  they  hold  you  in  high 
esteem ;  even  Hornecht,  the  great  captain,  and  his 
daughter  Kasana." 

"  Do  they  ? "  said  the  warrior  with  a  smile,  and 
he  bid  his  nephew  to  lie  down  and  keep  quiet,  for 
his  brow,  though  less  seriously  burning  than  it  had 
been  the  night  before,  was  still  very  hot. 

"  Do  not  go  out  of  doors,"  Hosea  added,  "  till 
the  leech  has  been  to  see  you,  and  await  my 
return." 

"  And  will  you  be  long  away  ? "  asked  the  boy. 


JOSHUA.  85 

At  this  Hosea  paused  in  thought,  looked  kindly 
in  his  face,  and  then'  gravely  replied : 

"  The  man  who  serves  a  master  never  knows  how 
long  he  may  be  detained."  Then1,  changing  his  tone, 
he  added  less  emphatically :  "  To-day,  this  morning, 
I  may  perhaps  get  through  my  business  quickly  and 
return  in  a  few  hours.  If  it  should  not  be  so,  if  I 
should  not  be  with  you  by  this  evening,  or  early  to- 
morrow morning,  then  " — and  he  laid  his  hand  on 
the  boy's  shoulder — "  then  make  your  way  home  as 
fast  as  you  can.  If,  w"hen  you  reach  Succoth,  the 
people  have  gone  on  before  you,  look  in  the  hollow 
sycamore  before  the  house  of  Aminadab,  and  you 
will  find  a  letter  which  will  tell  you  whither  they 
have  gone ;  and  when  you  come  up  Avith  them  greet 
my  father  and  my  grandfather  Elishama,  and  like- 
wise Miriam,  and  tell  them  and  all  the  people  that 
Joshua  will  ever  be  mindful  of  the  commands  of 
God  and  of  his  father.  Henceforth  he  will  be  called 
Joshua  by  all  men — Joshua,  and  not  Hosea.  Tell 
this  to  Miriam  first  of  all. 

"  Finally,  say  to  them  that  if  I  stay  behind,  If  I 
am  not  allowed  to  follow  them,  as  I  fain  would  do, 
it  is  that  the  Most  High  hath  dealt  otherwise  with 
me,  and  hath  broken  the  sword  which  he  had  chosen 
before  he  had  used  it.  Do  you  understand  me, 
boy?" 

And  Ephraim  bowed  his  head  and  said:  "  You 
mean  that  death  alone  can  keep  you  from  obeying 
the  call  of  God  and  your  father's  commands  ?  " 

"  That  was  my  meaning,"  replied  his  uncle.     "  And 


86  JOSHUA. 

if  they  ask  you  why  I  have  not  stolen  away 
from  Pharaoh  and  escaped  from  his  power,  answer 
that  Hosea  would  fain  enter  on  his  office  as  a  true 
man  unstained  by  perjury,  or,  if  it  be  God's  will,  die 
true.  Now  rehearse  the  message." 

Ephraim  obeyed ;  and  his  uncle's  words  must  have 
sunk  deep  into  his  soul,  for  he  neither  forgot  nor 
altered  a  single  word ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  ended 
his  task  of  repetition  than  he  seized  Hosea's  hand 
with  vehement  urgency  and  implored  him  to  tell 
him  whether  he  had  indeed  any  fear  for  his  life. 

At  this  the  warrior  clasped  him  in  a  loving  em- 
brace, and  assured  him  that  he  hoped  that  he  had 
given  him  this  message  only  to  be  forgotten. 

"  Perhaps,"  he  added,  "  they  may  try  to  keep  me 
by  force,  but  by  God's  help  I  shall  soon  be  back 
with  you  again,  and  we  will  ride  forth  together  to 
Succoth." 

He  turned  and  went  out  without  heeding  his 
nephew's  questions,  for  he  heard  the  sound  of  wheels 
without,  and  two  chariots  with  fine  horses  came 
rapidly  up  to  the  tent  and  stopped  in  front  of  the 
entrance. 


JOSHUA.  87 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

HOSEA  was  well  acquainted  with  the  men  who 
stepped  out  of  the  chariots  ;  they  were  the  head 
chamberlain  and  one  of  the  King's  chief  scribes,  and 
they  had  come  to  bid  him  to  the  "  High  Gate,"  as 
the  palace  of  the  Pharaohs  was  called.  No  hesitancy 
or  escape  was  possible,  and  he  got  into  the  second 
chariot  with  the  scribe,  surprised  indeed,  but  not 
uneasy.  Both  officials  wore  mourning  robes,  and 
instead  of  a  white  ostrich  plume,  the  insignia  of  office, 
a  black  plume  fixed  on  the  brow.  The  horses,  too, 
and  the  runners  were  decked  with  badges  of  the 
deepest  woe.  And  yet  the  King's  messengers  seem 
to  be  cheerful  rather  than  dejected,  for  the  noble  bird 
which  they  were  charged  to  bring  into  Pharaoh's 
presence  had  come  out  at  their  call,  and  they  had 
feared  to  find  the  nest  deserted. 

The  long-limbed  bays  of  royal  breed  carried  the 
light  vehicles  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind  across 
the  uneven  sandy  way  and  the  smooth  high-road 
beyond,  toward  the  palace. 

Ephraim,  with  youthful  inquisitiveness,  had  gone 
out  of  the  tent  to  see  the  unwonted  scene  that  met 
his  eyes.  The  soldiers  were  well  pleased  that  Pha- 


88  JOSHUA. 

raoh  should  have  sent  his  own  chariots  to  fetch  their 
captain,  and  he  even  felt  his  vanity  flattered  when  he 
saw  his  uncle  drive  awa}r.  But  he  had  not  long  the 
pleasure  of  watching  him,  for  thick  clouds  of  dust 
soon  hid  the  chariots  from  view.  The  hot  desert 
wind  had  risen  which  so  often  blows  in  the  Nile 

* 

valley  during  the  spring  months,  and  whereas  all 
night  and  in  the  morning  the  sky  had  been  clearly 
blue,  it  was  now  not  clouded,  but  veiled,  as  it  were, 
with  white  haze. 

The  sun  looked  down,  a  motionless  globe,  like  a 
blind  eye  above  the  heads  of  men,  and  the  fierce 
heat  it  shed  seemed  to  have  burned  up  its  beams, 
which  to-day  were  invisible.  The  eye,  protected  by 
the  mist,  could  look  up  at  it  unhurt,  and  yet  its 
scorching  power  was  as  great  as  ever.  The  light 
breeze  which  commonly  fanned  the  brow  in  the  early 
part  of  the  day  touched  it  now  like  the  hot  breath 
of  a  raging  beast  of  prey.  It  was  loaded  with  the 
fine  scorching  sand  of  the  desert,  and  the  pleasure 
of  breathing  was  turned  into  torture.  The  usually 
fragrant  air  of  a  March  day  in  Egypt  was  now  an 
oppression  both  to  man  and  beast,  choking  their 
lungs,  and  seeming,  indeed,  to  weigh  on  the  whole 
frame  and  check  its  joy  in  life. 

The  higher  the  pale  and  rayless  orb  rose  in  the  sky 
the  denser  grew  the  mist,  the  heavier  and  swifter 
rolled  the  sand-clouds  from  the  desert. 

Ephraim  still  stood  in  front  of  the  tent  gazing  at 
the  spot  where  Pharaoh's  chariots  had  vanished  in 
the  dust.  His  knees  shook,  but  he  attributed  this  to 


JOSHUA.  89 

the  wind  sent  by  Set-Typhon,  at  Avhose  blowing  even 
the  strongest  was  aware  of  a  weight  about  his 
feet. 

Hosea  was  gone,  but  he  might  return  in  a  few 
hours,  and  then  he  would  be  compelled  to  follow 
him  to  Succoth ;  then  the  fair  dreams  and  hopes 
which  yesterday  had  brought  him,  and  whose  be- 
witching charms  his  fever  had  enhanced,  would  be 
lost  to  him  forever. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  he  had  quite  made  up 
his  mind  to  enter  Pharaoh's  army,  to  the  end  that  he 
might  remain  near  Tanis  and  Kasana ;  but,  although 
he  had  not  more  than  half  understood  Hosea's 
message,  he  could  clearly  infer  that  he  meant  to 
turn  his  back  on  Egypt  and  his  high  office,  and 
that  he  counted  on  taking  him,  Ephraim,  with  him, 
unless  meanwhile  he  could  make  good  his  escape. 
So  then  he  must  give  up  his  desire  to  see  Kasana  once 
more.  But  this  thought  was  more  than  he  could  en- 
dure, and  a  voice  within  whispered  to  him  that  he  had 
neither  father  nor  mother  and  was  free  to  act  as  he 
chose.  His  guardian,  the  brother  of  his  deceased 
father,  in  whose  house  he  had  been  brought  up,  had 
died  not  long  since  of  an  illness,  and  no  new  guardian 
had  been  appointed  to  him,  as  he  was  now  past 
childhood.  He  was  destined  by  and  by  to  become 
one  of  the  chiefs  of  his  proud  tribe,  and  until  yester- 
day had  never  wished  for  anything  better. 

When  yesterday  he  had  rejected  the  priest's 
challenge  to  become  a  warrior  under  Pharaoh,  with 
the  pride  of  a  shepherd  prince,  he  had  followed 


go  JOSHUA. 

the  impulse  of  his  heart ;  but  now  he  said  to  himself 
that  he  had  been  foolish  and  childish  to  reject  a 
thing  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  which  had  always 
and  intentionally  been  represented  to  him  in  a  false 
and  hideous  light  in  order  to  attach  him  more  closely 
to  his  own  people.  The  Egyptians,  he  had  always 
been  told,  were  his  enemies  and  oppressors,  and 
how  delightful,  on  the  contrary,  had  everything 
seemed  in  the  first  house  of  an  Egyptian  warrior 
which  he  had  happened  to  enter. 

And  Kasana!  What  would  she  think  of  him  if  he 
quitted  Tanis  without  a  word  of  greeting  or  leave- 
taking  ?  Would  it  not  be  a  perpetual  vexation  and 
regret  to  him  that  he  must  dwell  in  her  memory  as 
a  clumsy  peasant  shepherd  ?  Indeed,  it  would  be 
actually  dishonest  not  to  restore  the  costly  garments 
which  she  had  lent  him.  Gratitude  was  accounted 
among  the  Hebrews,  too,  as  the  holiest  duty  of  a 
noble  heart.  He  would  be  a  hateful  wretch  all  his 
life  long  if  he  did  not  go  to  see  her  once  more. 

Only  he  must  make  haste,  for  when  his  uncle 
should  return  he  must  find  him  ready  to  set  out. 

He  began  forthwith  to  strap  the  sandals  on  his 
feet ;  but  he  did  it  but  slowly,  and  he  could  not  under- 
stand what  it  was  that  made  everything  so  difficult 
to  him  to-day. 

He  crossed  the  camp  unimpeded.  The  Pylons  and 
obelisks  in  front  of  the  temples  showed  him  the  way, 
though  they  seemed  to  quiver  in  the  sand-filled  air, 
and  he  presently  came  out  on  the  broad  road  which 
led  to  the  town  market-place.  A  panting  Egyptian, 


JOSHUA.  91 

whose  ass  was  carrying  wine-skins  to  the  camp, 
directed  him  on  his  way. 

The  path  was  deep  in  dust,  and  dust  wrapped  him  as 
he  went.  The  sun  overhead  poured  a  flood  of  fire 
down  on  his  bare  head,  and  his  wound  again  began 
to  ache,  the  sand  filled  his  eyes  and  mouth  and  stung 
his  face  and  bare  limbs.  He  was  overpowered  by 
thirst,  and  more  than  once  he  was  forced  to  stop,  for 
his  feet  felt  strangely  heavy.  At  last  he  reached  a 
well,  dug  for  wayfarers  by  a  pious  Egyptian,  and 
although  it  was  graced  with  the  image  of  a  god,  and 
Miriam  had  taught  him  that  it  was  an  abomination 
to  turn  from  the  way  to  such  images,  he  drank 
nevertheless,  and  drank  again,  and  thought  he  had 
never  enjoyed  such  a  refreshing  draught. 

He  got  over  his  fear  of  losing  his  senses,  as  he  had 
done  yesterday,  and,  though  his  feet  still  dragged, 
he  walked  on  briskly  to  the  tempting  goal.  But 
presently  his  strength  again  failed  him,  -the  sweat 
streamed  from  his  brow,  and  there  was  a  throbbing 
and  hammering  in  the  cut  on  his  head  and  he  felt  as 
if  his  skull  was  being  crushed  in  an  iron  fillet.  Now 
his  usually  keen  sight  was  failing,  for  the  things  he 
tried  to  see  seemed  to  float  in  dancing  sand,  the 
horizon  rocked  before  his  eyes  ;  and  suddenly  he  felt 
as  though  the  hard  pavement  had  turned  to  a  bog 
beneath  his  feet.  Still  all  this  troubled  him  little, 
for  his  fancy  had  never  glowed  so  brightly  within 
him.  The  things  he  thought  of  rose  before  him 
with  marvellous  vividness.  Image  after  image  stood 
before  the  wide-open  eyes  of  his  soul,  and  not  at  his 


Q2  JOSHUA. 

bidding,  but  as  if  raised  by  a  will  outside  himself. 
Now  he  beheld  himself  lying  at  Kasana's  feet,  his 
head  fondly  laid  on  her  lap  while  he  gazed  up  into 
her  lovely  face.  Then  it  was  Hosea  who  stood 
before  him,  in  splendid  armor  as  he  had  just  now 
seen  him,  only  more  gorgeous ;  and  in  ruddy  firelight, 
instead  of  the  dim  light  in  the  tent.  Then  again,  all 
the  finest  oxen  and  rams  of  his  herds  passed  in  front 
of  him,  and  mingling  with  all  these,  sentences  of  the 
message  he  had  learned  passed  through  his  mind- 
nay,  he  fancied  that  they  were  being  shouted  in  his 
ears ;  but  before  he  could  be  quite  sure  of  their 
meaning,  some  new  and  dazzling  vision  or  a  loud, 
rushing  sound  filled  his  mind's  eye  and  ear. 

And  on  he  went,  tottering  like  one  drunk,  with 
the  sweat  standing  on  his  brow  and  a  parched 
mouth.  Now  and  then  he  mechanically  lifted  his 
hand  to  wipe  the  dust  from  his  burning  eyes,  but  he 
cared  little  that  they  failed  to  show  him  clearly 
what  was  passing  around  him,  for  nothing  could  be 
more  delightful  than  what  he  beheld  when  he  looked 
within.  Every  now  and  then,  to  be  sure,  he  was 
conscious  of  acute  suffering,  and  he  felt  inclined  to 
fling  himself  on  the  ground  in  sheer  exhaustion,  but 
then  again  a  strange  sense  of  relief  kept  him  up.  At 
last  the  delirium  was  too  much  for  him ;  his  head 
seemed  growing  and  swelling  till  it  was  as  large  as 
the  head  of  the  colossus  he  had  seen  yesterday  in 
front  of  a  temple,  then  it  rose  to  the  height  of  the 
palm  trees  by  the  roadside,  and  at  last  it  reached 
the  mist  over  the  firmament,  and  higher  and  higher 


JOSHUA.  93 

yet.  Then  this  head,  which  was  still  his  head,  was 
as  wide  as  the  horizon,  and  he  pressed  his  hands  to 
his  temples  and  held  his  brow,  for  his  neck  and 
shoulders  were  too  weak  to  bear  the  burden  of  so 
huge  a  head,  and  possessed  with  this  madness,  he 
shrieked  aloud,  his  knees  gave  way  and  he  sank 
senseless  in  the  dust. 


94  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

AT  this  same  hour  a  chamberlain  was  leading 
Hosea  into  the  hall  of  audience. 

Though  subjects  bidden  to  attend  the  King  com- 
monly had  hours  to  wait,  the  Hebrew's  patience 
was  put  to  no  severe  test.  At  this  time  of  deep 
mourning  the  spacious  rooms  of  the  palace,  in  which 
a  gay  and  noisy  throng  were  wont  to  move,  were 
as  still  as  the  grave,  for  not  the  slaves  and  sentries 
only,  but  many  persons  of  superior  rank  in  immediate 
attendance  on  the  royal  pair,  had  fled  from  the 
pestilence  and  escaped  without  leave. 

Here  and  there  a  solitary  priest  or  official  leaned 
against  a  pillar  or  cowered  on  the  ground,  hiding 
his  face  in  his  hands,  while  awaiting  some  command. 
Soldiers  went  about  trailing  their  arms  and  in  silent 
brooding.  Now  and  then  a  few  young  priests  in 
mourning  robes  stole  through  the  deserted  rooms 
and  speechlessly  swung  the  silver  censers,  which 
shed  a  pungent  perfume  of  resin  and  juniper. 

It  was  as  though  a  terrible  incubus  weighed  on 
the  palace  and  its  inhabitants,  for,  added  to  the  loss 
of  the  King's  beloved  son,  which  came  home  to  many 
hearts,  the  fear  of  death  and  the  desert  wind  had 
crushed  the  energies  of  mind  and  body  alike. 


JOSHUA.  95 

Here,  under  the  shadow  of  the  throne,  where  of 
yore  all  eyes  had  glittered  with  hope,  ambition, 
gratitude  or  fear,  devotion  or  hatred,  Hosea  saw  to- 
day only  bowed  heads  and  downcast  looks. 

Baie  alone,  the  second  prophet  of  Amon,  seemed 
untouched  by  sorrow  or  the  terrors  of  the  night  and 
the  enervating  influences  of  the  day,  for  he  greeted 
the  captain  in  the  ante-chamber  as  frankly  and  cheer- 
fully as  ever,  and  assured  him,  though  in  an  under- 
tone, that  no  one  dreamed  of  calling  him  to  account 
for  the  sins  of  his  people.  But  when  the  Hebrew,  of 
his  own  free  will,  acknowledged  that  at  the  moment 
when  he  was  sent  for  by  the  King  he  was  in  the  act 
of  going  to  the  superior  captains  of  the  army  to  be- 
seech  them  to  release  him  from  his  service,  the  priest 
interrupted  him  to  remind  him  of  the  debt  of  grati- 
tude which  he,  Baie,  owed  to  him.  And  he  declared 
that  for  his  part,  he  would  do  his  utmost  to  keep 
him  with  the  army  and  to  prove  to  him  that  an 
Egyptian  knew  how  to  honor  faithful  service  with- 
out respect  of  persons  or  considerations  of  birth,  nay, 
even  against  Pharaoh's  will ;  and  of  this  he  would 
presently  speak  with  him  in  secret. 

But  the  Hebrew  had  no  time  to  reiterate  his  pur- 
pose, for  the  head  chamberlain  interrupted  them  to 
lead  Hosea  into  the  presence  of  the  "  Kind  God."  * 

Pharaoh  awaited  him  in  the  smaller  reception 

hall,  adjoining  the  royal  apartments.    It  was  a  noble 

room,  and  looked  more  spacious  to-day  than  when, 

as  usual,  it  was  filled  with  a  crowd.     Only  a  few 

*An  euphemistic  title  of  the  Pharaohs. 


96  JOSHUA. 

courtiers  and  priests,  with  some  of  the  Queen's  ladies, 
formed  a  small  group,  all  in  deep  mourning,  round 
the  throne  ;  opposite  the  King,  squatting  in  a  circle 
on  the  ground,  were  the  King's  councillors  and  in- 
terpreters, wearing  each  his  ostrich  plume. 

All  wore  badges  of  mourning,  and  the  monotonous 
chant  of  the  wailing  women,  broken  now  and  then 
by  a  loud,  shrill  tremulous  outcry,  came  pealing  out 
from  the  inner  rooms  and  found  its  way  to  the  great 
hall,  a  token  that  death  had  claimed  a  victim  even  in 
the  palace. 

The  King  and  Queen  sat  on  a  couch  under  a  can- 
opy of  black  ;  the  throne  itself  was  of  ivory  and 
gold.  Instead  of  their  splendid  state  attire  they 
were  clad  in  dark  robes,  and  the  royal  wife  and 
mother,  who  bewailed  her  first-born,  leaned  motion- 
less and  with  downcast  head  against  her  husband's 
shoulder. 

Pharaoh,  too,  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground, 
as  if  lost  in  a  dream,  The  sceptre  had  fallen  from 
his  hand  and  lay  in  his  lap. 

The  Queen  had  been  torn  from  the  corpse  of  her 
son,  which  was  now  given  over  to  the  embalmers, 
and  it  was  not  till  she  entered  the  audience-hall  that 
she  had  been  able  to  control  her  tears.  But  she  had 
not  thought  of  resistance,  for  the  unrelenting  cere- 
monial of  court  life  made  the  Queen's  presence  in- 
dispensable at  any  audience  of  high  importance.  And 
to-day  of  all  days  she  certainly  would  fain  have  es- 
caped, but  that  Pharaoh  had  commanded  her  to  ap- 
pear. She  knew  what  counsel  was  to  be  taken  and 


JOSHUA.  97 

approved  of  it  beforehand,  for  she  was  wholly  pos- 
sessed by  her  dread  of  the  power  of  Mesu,  the  He- 
brew, called  by  his  own  people  Moses,  and  of  his  God, 
who  had  brought  such  terrors  on  Egypt.  Alas !  for 
she  had  other  children  to  lose,  and  she  had  known 
Mesu  from  his  childhood,  and  knew  in  what  high  es- 
teem the  learning  of  this  stranger  had  been  held  by 
the  great  Rameses,  her  husband's  father  and  prede- 
cessor, who  had  brought  him  up  with  his  own  sons. 

Oh,  if  it  were  but  possible  to  make  terms  with  this 
man !  But  Mesu  had  departed  with  his  people,  and 
she  knew  his  iron  will,  and  that  the  terrible  foe  was 
armed  not  alone  against  Pharaoh's  threats,  but  even 
against  her  passionate  supplications. 

Now  she  would  meet  Hosea,  and  he,  the  son  of 
Nun  and  the  most  noble  of  the  Hebrews  of  Tanis, 
could  succeed,  if  any  man  could,  in  carrying  out  such 
measures  as  she  and  her  husband  might  think  best 
for  all  parties,  in  concert  with  Ruie,  the  venerable 
high  priest  and  chief  prophet  of  Amon,  the  pontiff 
of  all  the  priesthood  of  Egypt,  who  combined  in 
his  own  person  the  dignities  of  chief  judge,  treasurer 
and  viceroy  of  the  realm,  and  who  had  come  with 
the  court  from  Thebes  to  Tanis. 

"When  she  had  been  sent  for  to  the  audience  cham- 
ber she  was  winding  a  garland  for  the  beloved  dead, 
and  lotos  flowers,  larkspurs,  mallow  and  willow  leaves 
were  handed  to  her  as  she  required  them.  They  lay 
before  her  now  on  a  table  and  in  her  lap,  but  she  felt 
paralyzed,  and  her  hand,  as  she  put  it  forth,  refused 
its  service. 
7 


98  JOSHUA. 

Rule,  the  chief  prophet  of  Amon,  sat  on  his  heels 
on  a  mat  to  the  left  of  the  King ;  he  was  a  very  old 
man,  long  past  his  ninetieth  year.  A  pair  of  shrewd 
eyes,  shaded  by  a  penthouse  of  thick  white  eyebroAvs, 
looked  out  of  his  brown  face,  which  was  as  gnarled 
and  wrinkled  as  the  bark  of  a  rugged  oak,  like  bright 
flowers  from  withered  foliage ;  and  their  brilliancy 
was  startling  in  such  a  shrunken,  huddled,  stooping 
figure. 

This  old  man  had  long  since  left  all  active  conduct 
of  affairs  to  the  second  prophet,  Baie,  but  he  clung 
stoutly  to  his  dignities,  to  his  place  at  Pharaoh's  side 
and  his  seat  in  the  council :  and,  rarely  as  he  spoke, 
his  opinion  more  often  carried  the  day  than  that  of 
the  eloquent,  fiery,  and  much  younger  second  prophet. 

Since  the  pestilence  had  invaded  the  palace  the 
old  man  had  not  quitted  Pharaoh's  side,  yet  he  felt 
more  alive  than  usual  to-day,  for  the  desert  wind, 
which  made  others  languish,  revived  him.  He  was 
wont  to  shiver  continually,  in  spite  of  the  panther 
skin  which  covered  his  back  and  shoulders,  and  the 
heat  of  the  day  warmed  his  sluggish  old  blood. 

The  Hebrew  Mesu  had  been  his  pupil,  and  never 
had  he  had  the  guidance  of  a  grander  nature  or  the 
teaching  of  a  youth  more  richly  graced  with  all  the 
gifts  of  the  spirit.  He  had  initiated  the  Hebrew  into 
all  the  highest  mysteries,  and  had  expected  the  great- 
est results  for  Egypt  and  the  priesthood  ;  and  when 
Mesu  had  one  day  slain  an  overseer  who  was  un- 
mercifully flogging  one  of  his  fellow  Hebrews,  and 
had  fled  into  the  desert,  Ruie  had  bewailed  the 


JOSHUA.  99 

rash  deed  as  deeply  as  if  his  own  son  had  committed 
it  and  was  to  suffer  the  consequences.  His  inter- 
cession had  procured  Mesu's  pardon,  but  when  Mesu 
had  returned  to  Egypt,  and  that  change  had  been 
wrought  in  him  which  his  friends  in  the  temple  called 
his  apostasy,  he  had  caused  his  old  master  a  keener 
grief  than  by  his  Hight.  If  Ruie  had  been  younger 
he  would  have  hated  the  man  who  had  cheated  his 
dearest  hopes  ;  but  the  old  priest,  to  whom  the  hu- 
man heart  was  as  an  open  book,  and  whose  sober 
impartiality  enabled  him  to  put  himself  in  the  place 
of  his  fellow-man,  confessed  to  himself  that  it  was 
his  own  fault  that  he  had  failed  to  foresee  this  falling 
away.  Education  and  dogma  had  made  of  Mesu,  the 
Hebrew,  an  Egyptian  priest  after  his  own  heart  and 
pleasing  to  the  divinity,  but  when  once  he  had  raised 
his  hand  to  defend  one  of  his  own  race  against  those 
to  whom  he  had  been  allied  only  by  human  agencies, 
he  was  lost  to  the  Egyptians.  He  was  henceforth  a 
true  son  of  his  people,  and  whithersoever  this  high- 
minded  and  strong-willed  man  might  lead,  others 
must  inevitably  follow. 

Aye,  and  the  high  priest  knew  full  well  what  it  was 
that  the  apostate  hoped  to  give  to  his  people :  he  had 
confessed  to  Ruie  himself  that  it  was  the  faith  in  one 
God.  Mesu  had  denied  that  he  was  guilty  of  perjury 
and  had  pledged  himself  never  to  betray  the  myster- 
ies to  his  people,  but  only  to  lead  them  back  to  the 
God  whom  their  forefathers  had  served  before 
Joseph  and  his  kindred  had  ever  come  into  Egypt. 
The  one  god  of  the  initiated  was>  no  doubt,  in  many 


100  JOSHUA. 

respects  like  the  God  of  the  Hebrews,  and  that  was 
precisely  what  had  reassured  the  ancient  sage  ;  for  he 
knew  by  experience  that  the  common  folk  would  not 
be  content  with  a  god,  one  and'  invisible,  such  as 
many  even  of  the  more  advanced  of  his  own  disciples 
found  it  difficult  to  conceive  of.  The  men  and  women 
of  the  masses  required  sensible  images  of  everything 
of  which  they  perceived  the  eifects  in  and  about  them, 
and  this  need  the  religion  of  the  Egyptians  gratified. 
What  comfort  could  a  love-lorn  maid  find  in  an  in- 
visible and  creative  Power,  governing  the  course  of 
the  universe  ?  She  would  be  drawn  to  the  gentle 
Hathor,  who  held  in  her  beneficent  grasp  the  cords 
which  bind  heart  to  heart,  the  fair  and  powerful 
goddess  of  procreation,  before  whom  she  could  pour 
forth  in  full  confidence  all  that  weighed  on  her  soul. 
Or  a  mother  who  longed  to  snatch  a  darling  child 
from  death — how  could  her  small  sorrows  concern 
the  incomprehensible  and  almighty  Being  who  ruled 
the  whole  world  ?  But  Isis,  the  gracious  mother  who 
herself  had  wept  in  such  deep  anguish,  she  could  un- 
derstand her  grief  !  And  how  often  in  Egypt  it  was 
the  wife  who  influenced  her  husband's  attitude  to  the 
gods! 

And  the  high  priest  had  frequently  seen  Hebrew 
men  and  women  worshipping  devoutly  in  the  sanc- 
tuaries of  Egypt.  Even  if  Mesu  should  succeed  in 
persuading  them  to  acknowledge  one  God,  he,  the 
experienced  old  man,  foresaw  with  certainty  that 
they  would  ere  long  turn  away  from  the  invisible 
Spirit  who  must  ever  remain  remote  and  unreal  to 


JOSHUA.  101 

their  apprehension,  and  flock  back  in  hundreds  to 
the  gods  they  could  understand. 

Now  Egypt  was  threatened  with  the  loss  of  the 
tilers  and  brickmakers  she  so  greatly  needed.  Still 
Ruie  believed  he  could  lure  them  back. 

"  When  kind  words  will  do  the  work  let  sword 
and  bow  lie  idle,"  he  had  said  to  his  deputy,  Baie, 
who  had  urged  that  the  fugitives  should  be  pursued 
and  slain.  "  We  have  more  corpses  than  enough 
already ;  what  we  lack  are  workers.  Let  us  try  to 
keep  our  hold  on  what  we  are  so  likely  to  lose." 

And  this  milder  counsel  had  been  quite  after  the 
heart  of  Pharaoh,  who  had  had  enough  of  lamen- 
tation, and  who  would  have  thought  it  less  rash  to 
go  unarmed  into  a  lion's  cage  than  to  defy  the  ter- 
rible Hebrew  any  further. 

So  he  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  incitements  of 
the  second  prophet,  whose  decisive  and  energetic 
nature  had  an  influence  all  the  more  powerful  as  his 
own  was  irresolute,  and  had  approved  old  Ruie's 
proposal  that  Hosea,  the  man  of  war,  should  be  sent 
to  his  people  to  treat  with  them  in  Pharaoh's  name 
— a  plan  which  had  calmed  his  fears  and  inspired 
him  with  new  hopes. 

Baie  himself  had  at  last  agreed  to  this  suggestion. 
It  gave  him  a  further  chance  of  undermining  the 
throne  he  hoped  to  overthrow,  and  if  once  the 
Hebrews  were  re-established  in  the  land,  Prince 
Siptah,  in  whose  eyes  no  punishment  was  too  severe 
for  the  Hebrews,  who  hated  him,  might  very  probably 
seize  the  sceptre  of  the  cowardly  Menephtah.  But 


102  JOSHUA. 

first  the  fugitives  must  be  stopped,  and  for  this  Hosea 
was  the  right  man.  No  one,  Baie  thought,  was 
better  fitted  to  win  the  confidence  of  an  unsuspicious 
soldier  than  Pharaoh  himself  and  his  royal  wife. 

The  old  high  priest  was  on  this  point  of  the  same 
opinion,  although  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
conspiracy  ;  and  thus  the  sovereigns  had  determined 
to  interrupt  the  lamentations  for  the  dead,  and  them- 
selves speak  with  the  Hebrew. 

Hosea  fell  on  his  face  before  their  feet,  and  when 
he  rose  the  King's  weary  countenance  was  bent  on 
him,  sadly  indeed,  but  graciously. 

The  father  who  had  lost  his  first-born  son  had, 
according  to  custom,  sacrificed  his  hair  and  beard  to 
the  razor.  They  had  formerly  framed  his  face  in 
glossy  black,  but  near  twenty  years  of  anxious  rule 
had  turned  them  gray,  and  his  figure  had  lost  its 
upright  bearing  and  had  a  languid,  senile  stoop, 
though  he  was  scarcely  past  fifty.  His  regular 
features  were  still  handsome  and  there  was  some- 
thing pathetic  in  their  melancholy  softness,  evidently 
incapable  of  any  severe  tension,  especially  when  a 
smile  lent  bewitching  charm  to  his  mouth.  The 
indolent  deliberateness  of  his  movements  scarcely 
detracted  from  the  natural  dignity  of  his  person> 
though  his  voice,  which  was  agreeable,  generally 
had  an  exhausted  and  plaintive  sound.  He  was  not 
born  to  rule ;  thirteen  brothers,  older  than  he,  had 
died  before  the  heirship  to  the  throne  had  devolved 
upon  him,  and  he,  meanwhile,  as  the  handsomest 
youth  in  all  the  land,  the  darling  of  the  women  and 


JOSHUA.  103 

a  light-hearted  favorite  of  fortune,  had  lived  a  life  of 
unbroken  enjoyment  till  he  had  almost  arrived  at 
manhood.  Then  he  had  succeeded  his  father, 
Kameses  the  Great ;  and  hardly  had  he  grasped  the 
sceptre  when  the  Libyans,  with  strong  allies,  had  re- 
belled against  his  rule.  The  veteran  troops  and 
their  captains,  schooled  in  his  father's  wars,  helped 
him  to  conquer.  But  in  the  twenty  years  which 
had  now  elapsed  since  his  father's  death  his  armies 
had  rarely  had  any  rest,  for  rebellions  had  constantly 
to  be  quelled,  now  in  the  East  and  now  in  the  West, 
and  instead  of  dwelling  in  Thebes,  where  he  had 
spent  many  happy  years,  and  living  in  the  most 
gorgeous  of  palaces,  as  he  would  fain  have  done,  en- 
joying the  blessings  of  peace  and  the  society  of  the 
illustrious  students  and  poets  who  were  at  that  time 
to  be  found  there,  he  was  forced  sometimes  to  lead 
his  armies  into  the  field  and  sometimes  to  reside  at 
Tanis.  Thus  only  could  he  settle  the  difficulties 
that  disturbed  the  border  province,  and  in  this  he 
yielded  willingly  to  the  counsels  of  Ruie.  In  the 
later  years  of  his  father's  reign  the  national  sanctuary 
at  Thebes,  and,  consequently,  its  high  priest,  had 
attained  greater  wealth  and  power  than  the  royal 
family,  and  it  suited  Menephtah's  indolent  nature  to 
be  an  instrument  rather  than  a  master,  so  long  as  he 
abdicated  none  of  the  external  honors  due  to  the 
Pharaoh.  These  he  guarded  with  a  resolute  care 
which  he  was  incapable  of  exerting  when  more 
serious  matters  demanded  it. 

The  gracious  condescension  with  which  the  King 


104  JOSHUA. 

received  him  gratified  Hosea,  and  at  the  same  time 
roused  his  suspicions.  However,  he  had  the  courage 
to  declare  freely  that  he  desired  to  be  released  from 
his  office  and  from  the  oath  he  had  taken  to  his 
sovereign  lord. 

Pharaoh  listened  unmoved,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
soldier  had  confessed  that  his  father's  commands 
had  prompted  him  to  take  this  step  that  Pharaoh 
signed  to  the  high  priest,  who  then  spoke  in  scarcely 
audible  tones : 

"  A  son  who  sacrifices  greatness  that  he  may  con- 
tinue dutiful  to  his  father  must  be  one  of  the  most 
faithful  of  Pharaoh's  servants.  Go,  then,  do  the 
bidding  of  Nun.  The  Child  of  the  Sun,  the  lord  of 
Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  sets  you  free.  But  on 
one  condition,  which,  I  as  the  minister  of  the  Master, 
declare  to  you." 

"  And  what  is  that  ?  "  inquired  Hosea. 

And  again  the  King  signed  to  the  old  priest ;  then 
he  sank  back  on  the  throne,  while  Ruie  fixed  his 
piercing  eyes  on  Hosea  and  went  on  : 

"  That  which  the  Lord  of  both  worlds  requires  of 
you  by  my  mouth  is  easy  to  fulfil.  You  must  return, 
to  be  his  servant  and  one  of  us  again,  as  soon  as 
your  people  and  their  chief,  who  brought  such  woe 
on  this  land,  shall  have  taken  the  hand  of  the  divine 
son  of  the  Sun  which  he  vouchsafes  to  hold  forth  to 
them  in  pardon,  and  shall  have  come  back  under  the 
shadow  of  his  throne.  He,  of  his  divine  mercy,  is 
ready  to  attach  them  to  him  and  to  his  land  again 
with  rich  gifts,  as  soon  as  they  come  home  from  the 


JOSHUA.  105 

desert,  whither  they  are  gone  forth  to  sacrifice  to 
their  god.  Mark  me  well !  All  the  oppressions 
which  weighed  on  the  people  to  whom  you  belong 
shall  be  lifted  from  them.  The  divine  King  will 
make  a  new  law  granting  them  much  freedom  and 
many  privileges,  and  all  that  we  promise  them  shall 
be  written  down  and  witnessed  on  our  part  and  on 
yours,  as  a  new  covenant  binding  on  our  children 
and  our  children's  children.  Now  when  this  shall 
have  been  done,  with  an  honest  purpose  to  abide  by 
it  forever  on  our  part,  and  when  your  people  shall 
have  agreed  to  accept  it,  will  you  then  consent  to 
be  one  of  us  once  more  ? " 

"  Take  upon  yourself  the  office  of  mediator,"  the 
Queen  here  broke  in,  in  a  low  voice,  and  her  sad 
eyes  were  fixed  beseechingly  on  the  Hebrew's  face. 
"  I  quail  before  Mesu's  wrath,  and  all  that  may  be 
done  shall  be  done  to  win  back  his  former  friend- 
ship. Speak  to  him  in  my  name,  and  remind  him 
of  the  days  when  I,  Isisnefert,  would  learn  of  him 
the  names  of  the  plants  I  carried  to  him,  and  he 
taught  me  and  my  sister  their  uses  or  their  poison- 
ous powers  when  he  came  to  see  the  Queen,  his 
second  mother,  in  the  women's  quarters.  The 
wounds  he  has  inflicted  on  our  hearts  shall  be  for- 
given and  forgotten.  Be  our  ambassador,  Hosea; 
do  not  refuse  our  prayer  ?  " 

"  Such  words  from  such  gracious  lips  are  a  com- 
mand," replied  the  warrior,  "  and  are  sweet  to  the 
heart.  I  will  be  mediator." 

At  this  the  old  high  priest  nodded  approval  and 


106  JOSHUA. 

said  :  "  Then  I  hope  that  the  fruit  of  this  short  hour 
may  be  a  long  period  of  peace.  But  mark  me. 
Where  medicine  may  avail  we  avoid  the  knife  and 
cautery  ;  where  there  is  a  bridge  over  the  river  a 
man  does  not  rashly  try  to  swim  through  the  whirl- 
pool." 

"  Yes,  verily,  we  will  avoid  the  whirlpool,"  said 
the  King,  and  the  Queen  repeated  his  words ;  then 
she  again  fixed  her  eyes  on  the  flowers  in  her  lap. 

Then  a  formal  council  was  held. 

Three  private  scribes  sat  down  on  the  ground, 
close  to  the  high  priest,  to  enable  them  to  hear  his 
low  tones,  and  the  interpreters  and  counsellors,  in 
their  places,  took  out  their  writing  things,  and,  hold- 
ing the  papyrus  in  their  left  hands,  wrote  with  reeds 
or  brushes,  for  nothing  might  remain  unrecorded 
which  was  discussed  and  decided  in  Pharaoh's  pres- 
ence. Hardly  a  whisper  was  to  be  heard  in  the 
hall  while  this  went  on,  the  guards  and  courtiers 
remained  motionless  in  their  places,  and  the  royal 
couple  sat  rigid  and  speechless,  gazing  into  vacancy, 
as  if  in  a  dream. 

Neither  Pharaoh  nor  his  wife  could  possibly  have 
caught  a  word  of  the  murmured  colloquy  of  the 
speakers,  but  the  Egyptians  never  ended  a  sentence 
without  glancing  up  at  the  King,  as  if  to  make  sure 
of  his  approval.  Hosea,  who  was  accustomed  to  the 
scene,  followed  their  example,  speaking  like  the 
others  in  a  subdued  voice,  and  when  presently  the 
voice  of  the  second  prophet,  or  of  the  chief  inter- 
preter, sounded  rather  louder,  Pharaoh  raised  his 


JOSHUA. 

head  and  repeated  the  high  priest's  last  saying : 
"  Where  there  is  a  bridge  over  the  river  a  man  does 
not  try  to  swim  the  whirlpool,"  for  this  exactly  ex- 
pressed his  wishes  and  the  Queen's.  No  fighting  ! 
Peace  with  the  Hebrews,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
their  terrible  leader  and  of  his  god,  without  losing 
the  thousand  diligent  hands  of  the  fugitive  tribes. 

Thus  matters  proceeded,  and  when  the  muttering 
of  the  speakers  and  the  scratching  of  the  pens  had 
gone  on  for  fully  an  hour,  the  queen  was  still  sitting 
in  the  same  attitude ;  but  Pharaoh  began  to  stir  and 
raise  his  voice,  for  he  knew  that  the  second  prophet 
hated  the  man  whose  blessing  he  received  and  whose 
hostility  filled  him  with  such  dread,  and  he  feared 
but  he  should  be  requiring  some  impossible  condi- 
tions of  the  envoy. 

Still,  all  he  said  was  again  a  repetition  of  the  coun- 
sel as  to  the  bridge  ;  but  his  inquiring  glance  at  the 
chief  interpreter  moved  that  official  to  -assure  him 
that  all  was  proceeding  favorably.  Hosea  had 
merely  demanded  that  the  overseers,  who  kept  guard 
over  the  men  at  work,  should  not,  for  the  future,  be 
watchmen  of  Libyan  race,  but  Hebrews  themselves, 
to  be  chosen  by  the  elders  of  their  people  under  the 
sanction  of  the  Egyptian  government. 

At  this  Pharaoh  cast  his  look  of  anxious  entreaty 
at  Baie  and  the  other  councillors.  The  second 
prophet  only  shrugged  his  shoulders  regretfully,  and 
feigning  to  defer  his  own  opinion  to  the  divine  wis- 
dom of  Pharaoh,  conceded  this  point  to  Hosea.  The 
god  enthroned  on  earth  acknowledged  this  submis- 


108  JOSHUA. 

sion  with  a  grateful  bow,  for  Bale's  will  had  often 
crossed  his ;  and  then,  when  the  herald  or  rehearser 
had  read  aloud  all  the  clauses  of  the  treaty,  Hosea 
was  required  to  take  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would  in 
any  case  come  back  to  Tanis  and  report  how  his 
people  had  received  the  King's  advances. 

But  the  cautious  warrior,  who  was  well  aware  of 
all  the  snares  and  traps  with  which  the  state  was 
only  too  ready,  took  this  oath  most  unwillingly  and 
only  when  he  had  obtained  a  written  pledge  that 
whatever  the  issue,  his  freedom  should  be  in  no  way 
interfered  with  as  soon  he  could  give  them  his 
word  that  he  had  done  his  part  to  induce  the  leaders 
of  his  people  to  accept  these  terms. 

At  last  Pharaoh  held  out  his  hand  for  the  captain 
to  kiss,  and  when  he  had  also  pressed  to  his  lips  the 
hem  of  the  Queen's  robe,  Ruie  signed  to  the  monarch, 
who  understood  that  the  moment  was  come  when  he 
might  withdraw.  And  he  did  so  with  good  will  and 
a  sense  of  encouragement,  for  he  believed  that  he 
had  acted  for  the  best  for  his  own  welfare  and  that 
of  his  people. 

A  bright  radiance  lighted  up  his  handsome,  lan- 
guid features,  and  when  the  Queen  rose  and  saw  him 
smile,  content,  she  did  the  same.  At  the  door  the 
King  drew  a  breath  of  relief,  and  turning  to  his  wife 
he  said :  "  If  Ilosea  does  his  errand  well  we  shall 
get  across  the  bridge." 

"  And  not  swim  the  whirlpool,"  replied  the  Queen 
in  the  same  tone. 

"  And  if  the  Hebrew  captain  can  pacify  Mesu," 


JOSHUA.  IO9 

Pharaoh  went  on,  "  and  he  persuades  his  people  to 
remain  in  the  land — 

"  Then  you  must  adopt  this  Hosea  into  the  royal 
family.  He  is  well  favored  and  of  a  lordly  mien," 
his  wife  broke  in. 

But  at  this  Pharaoh  suddenly  abandoned  his 
stooping  and  indifferent  attitude. 

"  Impossible  ! "  he  eagerly  exclaimed.  "A  Hebrew  ! 
If  we  raise  him  to  be  one  of  the  '  friends,'  or  a  fan- 
bearer,  that  is  the  highest  he  can  hope  for.  In  such 
matters  it  is  very  difficult  to  avoid  doing  too  much 
or  too  little." 

As  the  royal  couple  went  forward  toward  the  pri- 
vate apartments,  the  wailing  of  the  mourners  fell 
more  loudly  upon  the  ear.  Tears  started  afresh  to 
the  Queen's  eyes,  while  Pharaoh  continued  to  delib- 
erate precisely  what  position  in  the  court  Hosea 
might  be  allowed  to  fill  if  he  succeeded  in  his  em- 
bassy. 


IIO  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

HOSEA  had  now  to  hasten  if  he  was  to  overtake 
the  Hebrews  in  time,  for  the  further  they  had  got 
on  their  way  the  more  difficult  it  might  be  to  per- 
suade Moses  and  the  heads  of  the  tribes  to  return 
and  accept  the  terms  offered  them. 

The  events  of  this  morning  were  to  him  so  mar- 
vellous that  he  regarded  the  issue  as  a  dispensation 
of  the  God  he  had  found  once  more ;  also  he  remem- 
bered the  name  of  Joshua,  that  is  to  say,  "Holpen  of 
the  Lord,"  which  had  been  laid  upon  him  by  Miriam's 
message,  whereas  he  had  hitherto  been  called  Hosea. 
He  was  willing  to  bear  it,  although  he  felt  it  hard 
to  deny  the  sovereign  who  had  raised  him  to  honor. 
Many  of  his  fellow-warriors  had  assumed  similar 
names,  and  his  had  proved  itself  nobly  true.  Never 
had  the  help  of  God  been  more  clearly  with  him 
than  it  had  been  this  day.  He  had  gone  into 
Pharaoh's  palace  in  the  expectation  of  losing  his 
freedom  or  being  handed  over  to  the  executioner  as 
soon  as  he  declared  his  wish  to  follow  his  people ; 
and  how  easily  had  the  ties  been  severed  which  bound 
him  to  Egypt !  And  he  had  been  charged  with  a  task 
in  his  eyes  so  great  and  noble  that  he  could  not  for- 


JOSHUA.  Ill 

bear  believing  that  the  God  of  his  fathers  had  called 
him  to  fulfil  it. 

He  loved  Egypt.  It  was  a  glorious  land.  "Where 
could  his  people  find  a  fairer  dwelling-place  ?  The 
conditions  only  under  which  they  had  dwelt  there 
had  been  intolerable.  Better  days  were  now  before 
them.  The  Hebrews  were  to  be  permitted  to  return 
to  Goshen  or  to  settle  in  the  lake-land  west  of  the 
Nile,  a  district  whose  fertility  was  well  known  to 
him.  No  one  henceforth  might  compel  them  to 
serfdom,  and  if  they  laid  their  hands  to  labor  for 
the  state,  Hebrews  only  were  to  be  their  task- 
masters, and  not  the  hard  and  cruel  stranger.  That 
his  people  must  remain  subject  to  Pharaoh  was  a 
matter  of  course.  Joseph,  Ephraim  and  his  sons, 
Joshua's  forefathers,  had  called  themselves  so,  and 
had  been  Avell  content  to  be  called  Egyptians.  If 
his  embassy  came  to  a  good  end  the  elders  of  the 
tribes  were  to  be  allowed  to  rule  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  people.  Moses  must  be  the  chief  ruler  in 
the  new  settlement,  in  spite  of  the  second  prophet's 
objections  ;  and  he  himself  would  be  captain  of  the 
united  force  Avhich  should  defend  its  frontiers ;  and 
form  fresh  legions  of  those  Hebrew  mercenaries  who 
had  already  proved  their  valor  in  many  wars.  Be- 
fore he  left  the  palace  the  second  prophet  had  given 
him  several  mysterious  hints  which  had  remained  un- 
solved, but  from  which  he  inferred  that  Baie  was  big 
with  portentous  schemes,  and  purposed  to  give  him 
some  important  charge  as  soon  as  the  conduct 
of  the  state  should  fall  from  the  hands  of  old  Euie 


112  JOSHUA. 

into  his  own ;  perhaps  the  chief  captaincy  of  the 
whole  army  of  mercenaries,  a  post  at  present  held 
by  a  Syrian  named  Aarsu.  This  disturbed  rather  than 
gratified  him ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  was  a  great 
satisfaction  to  him  to  have  made  it  a  condition  that 
the  eastern  frontier  should,  every  third  year,  be 
thrown  open  to  the  Hebrews,  that  they  might  go 
forth  to  the  desert  to  offer  sacrifices  to  their  God. 
On  this  Moses  had  insisted  most  strongly,  and  as 
the  law  now  stood  no  one  was  permitted  to  cross 
the  eastern  limit  line,  which  was  fortified  at  all 
points,  without  the  expressed  consent  of  the  autho- 
rities. This  concession  to  their  great  leader's  desire 
might  perhaps  gain  his  assent  to  a  treaty  so  favor- 
able to  his  people. 

All  through  these  transactions  Hosea  had  felt  keenly 
how  far  he  had  been  cut  off  from  his  race  ;  he  could 
not  even  say  what  was  the  aim  of  this  worship  in 
the  desert.  He  had  frankly  confessed  before  Pha- 
raoh's council  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  com- 
plaints or  demands  of  the  Hebrews,  and  he  did  so 
advisedly,  reserving  their  right  to  alter  and  amplify 
the  proposals  of  which  he  was  the  bearer.  But  what 
could  the  people  or  their  chief  hope  for  better  ? 

The  future  lay  before  him  full  of  hope  for  his 
nation  and  himself.  If  the  covenant  should  be  con- 
cluded the  time  would  be  come  for  him  to  found  a 
family,  and  the  image  of  Miriam  rose  before  him  in 
all  its  lofty  beauty.  The  thought  of  winning  this 
noble  woman  was  an  intoxicating  one,  and  he  asked 
himself  whether  he  were  indeed  worthy  of  her,  and 


JOSHUA.  113 

if  it  were  not  too  bold  to  sue  for  the  possession  of 
this  superb  inspired  maiden  and  prophetess. 

He  knew  life  well,  and  understood  how  little 
trust  could  be  placed  in  the  promises  of  the  irresolute 
man  for  whose  weak  hand  the  sceptre  was  too  heavy. 
But  he  had  taken  precautions,  and  if  the  elders  of 
the  people  could  only  be  pacified,  the  covenant, 
clause  by  clause,  would  be  graven  on  metal  tablets, 
like  every  other  compact  between  Egypt  and  a 
foreign  nation,  and  hung  up  in  the  national  temple 
at  Thebes,  signed  by  Pharaoh  ami  by  the  represent- 
atives of  his  people.  Such  a  document — as  he  had 
learnt  from  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  with  the 
Kheta — secured  and  prolonged  the  brief  "  forever  " 
of  international  compacts.  He  had  omitted  nothing 
that  might  protect  the  Hebrews  against  treason  and 
faithlessness. 

Never  had  Hosea  felt  stronger,  more  confident, 
more  glad  of  life  than  when  he  once  more  stepped 
into  Pharaoh's  chariot  to  take  leave  of  his  subalterns. 
Even  Baie's  mysterious  hints  and  confessions  did 
not  disturb  him,  for  he  was  wont  to  leave  the  cares 
of  the  future  to  the  future  day  ;  but  in  the  camp  a 
trouble  awaited  him  which  darkened  the  present 
hour,  for  he  there  heard  to  his  surprise,  wrath,  and 
distress  that  Ephraim  had  quitted  the  tent  and  stolen 
away,  telling  no  man  whither.  His  hasty  questions 
elicited  the  fact  that  the  lad  had  taken  the  road  to 
Tanis,  so  Hosea  charged  his  faithful  shieldbearer  to 
seek  the  boy  out  in  the  town,  and  if  he  found  him 

to  bid  him  follow  his  uncle  to  Succoth. 
8 


114  JOSHUA. 

Then,  as  soon  as  the  Captain  had  taken  leave  of 
his  men,  he  set  forth,  followed  by  his  old  squire. 

It  was  a  pleasure  to  him  to  see  that  the  Adones* 
and  other  inferior  officers  who  had  served  with  him, 
hard  warriors  with  whom  he  had  shared  all  he  pos- 
sessed in  war  and  peace,  in  peril  and  privation,  so 
frankly  showed  their  grief  at  parting.  The  tears 
rolled  down  the  brown  cheeks  of  many  a  man  grown 
gray  in  battle  as  he  shook  hands  with  him  for  the  last 
time.  Many  a  bearded  lip  was  pressed  to  the  hem 
of  his  garment,  or  his  feet,  or  the  shining  coat  of 
the  Libyan  charger,  which  bore  him  through  the 
ranks  with  arched  neck  and  eager  prancing,  though 
firmly  held  in  by  his  rider.  His  own  eyes  were 
moist  for  the  first  time  since  his  mother's  death,  as 
shouts  of  honest  regret  and  farewell  wishes  broke 
from  the  manly  hearts  of  his  troops,  and  echoed 
along  the  lines.  Never  had  he  felt  so  deeply  as  at 
this  moment,  how  closely  his  heart  was  knit  to  these 
men,  and  how  precious  to  him  was  his  noble  calling. 

But  the  duty  which  lay  before  him  was  high  and 
noble,  too,  and  the  God  who  had  released  him  from 
his  oath  and  made  his  way  plain  to  obey  his  father's 
behest  and  yet  be  true  and  faithful,  would  perhaps 
lead  him  back  to  his  comrades  in  arms,  whose  fare- 
well he  could  fancy  still  rang  in  his  ears  when  he 
Avas  long  since  out  of  hearing. 

Still,  the  full  glory  of  the  work  intrusted  to  him, 
the  exalted  frame  of  mind  of  a  man  who  goes  forth 
with  a  high  moral  purpose  to  fulfil  a  difficult  task, 
*  Answering  to  our  adjutants. 


JOSHUA.  115 

the  perfect  bliss  of  a  lover  who  flies  with  well- 
grounded  hopes  to  crown  the  purest  and  dearest 
wish  of  his  heart,  did  not  wholly  possess  him  till  he 
had  left  the  town  behind  him,  and  was  hastening,  at 
a  brisk  trot,  across  the  level  plain  dotted  with  palm 
groves  and  pools  which  lay  to  the  southeast. 

So  long  as  he  had  kept  his  horse  at  a  moderate 
pace  along  the  streets  of  the  town  and  about  the 
harbor,  his  mind  was  so  full  of  the  immediate  past 
and  of  anxiety  for  the  missing  youth,  that  he  had 
paid  small  heed  to  the  scene  around  him  ;  the  nu- 
merous vessels  lying  at  anchor,  the  motley  throng  of 
ships'  captains,  merchants,  sailors  and  porters  of  the 
most  diverse  races  of  Africa  and  Western  Asia,  who 
here  sought  their  fortunes,  or  the  officials,  soldiers 
and  supplicants  who  had  followed  the  court  from 
Thebes  to  Tanis. 

And  he  had  also  failed  to  observe  two  men  of 
higher  rank,  though  one  of  them,  Hornecht,  the 
captain  of  the  bowmen, had  saluted  him  as  he  passed. 
They  were  standing  back  under  the  gateway  of  the 
temple  of  Set,  for  shelter  from  a  cloud  of  dust  blown 
along  the  road  by  the  wind  from  the  desert.  And 
as  the  archer  vainly  endeavored  to  attract  the  rider's 
attention,  Baie,  his  companion,  said  to  him :  "  It 
matters  not  ;  he  will  learn  soon  enough  where  his 
nephew  has  found  refuge." 

"  By  your  command,"  replied  the  soldier.  Then 
he  went  on  eagerly  with  what  he  had  been  saying  : 
"  The  lad  looked  like  a  lump  of  clay  in  the  potter's 
shed  when  he  was  brought  in." 


Il6  JOSHUA. 

"  And  no  wonder,"  interrupted  the  priest.  "  He 
had  been  lying  quite  long  enough  in  Set-Typhon's 
dust.  But  what  did  your  steward  want  among  the 
soldiers  ? " 

"  My  Aclon,  whom  I  had  sent  out  last  evening, 
brought  word  that  the  poor  lad  was  in  a  high  fever, 
so  Kasana  packed  up  some  wine  and  her  nurse's 
balsam,  and  the  old  woman  went  with  them  to  the 
camp." 

"  To  the  boy  or  to  the  captain  ?  "  asked  the  proph- 
et, with  a  cunning  smile. 

"  To  the  sick  lad,"  replied  the  soldier,  decisively, 
with  an  ominous  frown.  But  he  checked  himself 
and  went  on,  apologetically :  "  Her  heart  is  as  soft 
as  wax,  and  the  Hebrew  boy —  you  saw  him  vester- 
day-  -" 

"  A  handsome  fellow — quite  after  a  woman's 
heart,"  laughed  the  priest.  "  And  stroking  the 
nephew  down  cannot  hurt  the  uncle." 

"  She  can  hardly  have  had  that  in  her  mind,"  said 
Hornecht  sharply.  "  And  the  unembodied  God  of 
the  Hebrews,  it  would  seem,  is  no  less  mindful  of  his 
own  than  the  immortals  you  serve,  for  when  he  led 
Hotepoo  to  the  spot  the  boy  was  very  nigh  unto 
death.  And  the  old  man  would  have  ridden  past 
him,  for  the  dust  had  already— 

"  As  you  said,  turned  him  into  a  lump  of  potter's 
clay.  But  what  then  ?  " 

"  Then  the  old  man  saw  something  golden  gleam 
in  the  gray  mass." 

"  And  for  gold  the  stiff est  back  will  bend." 


JOSHUA.  II/ 

"  Very  true  !  So  did  my  old  man.  The  broad 
gold  bracelet,  glittering  in  the  sun,  saved  the  boy's 
life  once  more." 

"  And  the  best  of  it  is  that  we  have  got  him  alive." 

"  Yes.  I,  too,  was  glad  to  see  him  open  his  eyes 
again.  He  quickly  got  better  and  better,  and  the 
leech  says  he  is  like  a  young  cat  and  nothing  will 
kill  him.  But  he  is  in  a  high  fever  and  talks  all 
sorts  of  nonsense  in  his  ravings,  which  even  my 
daughter's  old  nurse,  a  woman  from  Ascalon,  does 
not  understand.  But  she  believes  she  can  distin- 
guish Kasana's  name." 

"A  woman  once  more  at  the  bottom  of  the 
mischief." 

"  Cease  jesting,  reverend  father,"  replied  the 
warrior,  and  he  bit  his  lip.  "  A  decent  widow,  and 
this  downy-cheeked  boy  ? " 

"  At  his  tender  years,"  the  priest  went  on,  in  the 
same  tone,  "full-blown  roses  tempt  young  beetles 
more  than  buds  do,  and  in  this  case,"  he  added,  more 
gravely,  "nothing  could  be  more  fortunate.  We 
have  Hosea's  nephew  in  our  net,  and  now  it  is  your 
part  not  to  let  him  escape  the  toils." 

"  You  mean,"  cried  the  soldier,  "  that  we  are  to 
keep  him  a  prisoner  ? " 

"  As  you  say." 

"  But  you  esteem  his  uncle  highly  ? " 

"  Certainly,  but  higher  still  the  State." 

"  But  this  lad— " 

"  He  is  a  most  welcome  hostage.  Hosea's  sword 
was  an  invaluable  weapon,  but  if  the  hand  that 


Il8  JOSHUA. 

wields  it  is  guided  by  the  man  whose  power  over 
greater  men  than  he  we  know  too  well— 

"  You  mean  Mesu,  the  Hebrew  ?  " 

"  Hosea  will  wound  us  as  deeply  as  heretofore  our 
enemies." 

"  But  I  heard  you  yourself  say  that  he  was  inca- 
pable of  treachery." 

"  And  I  say  so  still ;  and  he  has  proved  my 
words  this  very  day.  It  was  simply  to  procure  his 
release  from  the  oath  of  fealty  that  he  this  day  put 
his  head  into  the  crocodile's  jaws.  But  if  Hosea  is 
a  lion,  in  Mesu  he  will  find  his  tamer.  That  man  is 
Egypt's  arch  foe,  and  my  gall  rises  only  to  think  of 
him." 

"  The  cries  of  woe  within  these  gates  are  enough 
to  keep  our  hatred  alive." 

"  And  yet  the  feeble  creature  who  fills  the  throne 
postpones  revenge  and  sends  forth  a  pacificator." 

"  With  your  consent,  I  believe  ?  " 

"  Quite  true,"  replied  the  priest,  with  a  sardonic 
smile.  "  We  have  sent  him  forth  to  build  a  bridge ! 
A  bridge,  forsooth !  The  dried-up  wisdom  of  an 
ancient  sage  recommends  it,  and  the  notion  is  quite 
after  the  heart  of  that  contemptible  son  of  a  great 
father,  who,  for  his  part,  never  shrunk  from  swim- 
ming the  wildest  whirlpool,  especially  when  revenge 
was  in  view.  Well,  Hosea  may  try  to  build  it.  If 
the  bridge  over  the  torrent  only  brings  him  back  to 
us,  I  will  give  him  a  warm  and  sincere  welcome.  But 
we,  who  alone  have  any  spirit  in  Egypt,  must  make 
it  our  business  to  see  that  as  soon  as  this  one  man 


JOSHUA. 

has  recrossed  to  our  shore  the  piers  shall  give  way 
under  the  tread  of  the  leader  of  his  nation." 

"  Yes,  yes.  But  I  fear  that  we  should  lose  the 
captain  if  his  people  met  the  fate  they  deserve." 

"  It  may  seem  so." 

"  You  are  wiser  than  I." 

"  But,  still;  in  this  case  you  think  I  am  mistaken." 

"  How  could  I  make  so  bold  ! " 

"  As  a  member  of  the  Council  of  War  it  is  your 
duty  to  express  your  own  opinion,  and  I  regard  it 
uow  as  my  part  to  show  you  whither  the  road  leads 
along  which  you  have  come  so  far  with  bandaged 
eyes.  Listen,  then,  and  be  guided  by  what  I  tell 
you  when  it  is  your  turn  to  speak  in  the  assembly. 
Ruie,  the  high  priest,  is  very  old." 

"  And  you  already  exercise  half  his  prerogatives." 

"  Would  that  he  might  soon  lay  down  the  rest  of 
the  burden  !  Not  for  my  own  sake,  I  love  a  contest, 
— but  for  the  welfare  of  our  country.  It  has  become 
a  deeply-rooted  habit  to  accept  all  that  age  decides 
and  rules  as  the  language  of  wisdom  ;  thus  there  are 
few  among  the  councillors  who  do  not  adhere  to  the 
old  man,  and  yet  his  statecraft,  like  himself,  goes 
only  on  crutches.  All  that  is  good  gets  lost  in  a 
fog  under  his  weak  and  half-hearted  guidance." 

"  On  this  point  you  may  count  on  my  support," 
cried  the  warrior.  "  I  will  lend  both  hands  to  over- 
throw the  dreamer  on  the  throne  and  his  senseless 
adviser." 

At  this  the  prophet  laid  his  finger  to  his  lip  in 
warning,  went  close  up  to  his  companion  and  said 


120  JOSHUA, 

in  low,  rapid  accents  :  "  I  am  now  expected  at  the 
palace,  so  hearken  only  to  this  much  :  If  Hosea 
effects  a  reconciliation,  his  people,  the  guilty  with 
the  innocent,  will  all  return,  and  the  guilty  will  be 
punished.  Among  the  innocent  we  may  reckon  the 
whole  of  the  Captain's  tribe,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
from  old  Nun,  the  father,  down  to  the -boy  in  your 
house." 

"  They  may  be  spared  ;  but  as  Mesu  is  a  Hebrew, 
whatever  is  done  to  him — 

"  It  will  not  be  done  in  the  open  street ;  and 
there  is  never  any  difficulty  about  sowing  the  seeds 
of  discord  between  two  men  who  have  an  equal 
right  to  rule  in  their  own  circle.  I  will  take  care 
that  Hosea  shall  wink  at  the  death  of  the  other, 
and  then  Pharaoh,  whether  his  name  be  Menephtah 
or"  (and  here  his  voice  fell  to  a  murmur)  "or 
Siptah,  shall  raise  him  to  such  a  giddy  height — for 
he  deserves  it — that  his  bewildered  eye  will  never 
see  anything  we  choose  to  hide  from  him.  There 
is  a  dish  of  which  no  man  can  cease  to  eat  who  has 
once  tasted  it,  and  that  meat  we  shall  serve  him 
withal." 

"  A  dish— meat  ? " 

"  Power,  Hornecht.  Immense  power.  As  gov- 
ernor of  a  province,  or  Captain-general  over  all  the 
mercenary  troops  in  Aarsu's  place,  he  will  beware  of 
quarrelling  with  us.  I  know  him.  If  we  can  but 
make  him  believe  that  Mesu  has  done  him  a  wrong 
— and  that  overbearing  man  will  of  a  certainty  give 
us  some  ground — and  if  he  can  but  be  convinced 


JOSHUA.  121 

that  the  law  prescribes  such  punishment  as  we  may 
inflict  on  the  magician  and  most  of  his  followers,  he 
will  not  merely  consent,  but  approve." 

"  But  if  the  embassy  should  fail  ?  " 

"  Still  he  will  come  back  to  us ;  for  he  never 
would  break  an  oath.  But  in  the  event  of  his  being 
forcibly  detained  by  Mesu,  who  is  capable  of  any- 
thing, the  boy  will  prove  useful ;  for  Hosea  loves 
him,  his  people  set  great  store  by  his  life,  and  he  is 
a  son  of -one  of  their  noblest  families.  Pharaoh 
shall  at  any  rate  threaten  the  lad ;  we,  on  our  part, 
will  protect  him,  and  that  will  bind  us  more  closely 
than  ever  to  his  uncle,  and  join  him  to  those  who 
are  wroth  with  the  King." 

"  Admirable ! " 

"  And  we  shall  yet  more  certainly  gain  our  end  if 
we  can  bind  him  by  yet  another  tie, — and  now  I  be- 
seech you  to  be  calm,  for  you  are  too  fiery  for  your 
years.  In  short,  our  brother  in  arms,  the  man  who 
saved  my  life,  the  best  warrior  in  all  the  army,  and 
who  consequently  must  rise  to  the  highest  honors, 
must  be  your  daughter's  husband.  Kasana  loves 
the  Hebrew —  that  I  know  from  my  wife." 

The  frown  once  more  knit  the  archer's  brow,  and 
he  struggled  painfully  to  be  calm.  He  felt  that  he 
must  subdue  his  distaste  for  calling  this  man  his  son- 
in-law  ;  for  in  fact  he  liked  and  esteemed  him,  though 
he  was  averse  to  his  nationality.  He  could  not,  in- 
dead,  refrain  from  muttering  a  curse,  but  his  reply 
to  the  priest  was  calmer  and  more  reasonable  than 
Baie  had  expected.  If  Kasana  was  so  possessed  by 


121  JOSHUA. 

demons  as  to  be  drawn  to  this  stranger,  then  she 
should  have  her  way.  But  Hosea  as  yet  had  not 
wooed  her,  u  and,"  he  added  furiously,  "  by  the  red 
god  Set  and  his  seventy  fellows  !  neither  you  nor  any 
other  man  shall  ever  move  me  to  force  my  child, 
who  has  suitors  by  the  score,  on  a  man  who,  though 
be  calls  himself  our  friend,  has  never  yet  found 
leisure  to  greet  us  in  our  own  house !  Taking 
charge  of  the  lad  is  another  matter,  and  I  will  see 
that  he  does  not  escape." 

"  Yery  good,  my  friend."  replied  the  priest,  lay- 
ing his  hand  on  his  companion's  shoulder.  "  You 
know  how  highly  I  value  Hosea,  and  if  he  should 
become  your  son-in-law  he  will  be  the  most  impor- 
tant and  indispensable  of  all  our  colleagues,  and 
then  I  fancy  his  nephew  may  grow  up  to  be  a  valiant 
officer  in  our  armv." 


JOSHUA.  123 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  midnight  sky,  sown  with  innumerable  stars, 
spread  deeply  and  purely  blue  over  the  broad  level 
of  the  eastern  delta  and  the  town  of  Succoth,  which 
the  Egyptians  called,  from  its  presiding  deity,  Pithom, 
or  the  city  of  Toom.  The  March  night  was  drawing 
to  its  close.  White  mists  floated  above  the  canal,  a 
work  of  the  Hebrew  bondsmen,  which  intersected  the 
plain  and  watered  the  pasture  lands  and  meadows 
that  spread  on  all  sides  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 
To  the  east  and  south  the  horizon  was  shrouded  by 
the  thick  haze  which  rose  from  the  broad  lakes  by 
the  isthmus.  The  hot,  sandy  desert  wind  which  yes- 
terday had  blown  over  the  thirsty  grass,  the  barren 
border-land  to  the  east,  and  the  houses  and  tents  of 
Succoth,  had  died  away  during  the  night,  and  the 
chill  hour  which  in  March  precedes  sunrise,  even  in 
Egypt,  was  very  perceptible. 

Any  one  who  had  in  former  days  arrived  between 
midnight  and  dawn  at  the  humble  frontier  town 
with  its  squalid  hovels  of  Nile  mud  and  modest  farms 
and  dwellings,  could  not  have  recognized  it  now. 
Even  its  one  important  building,  besides  the  splendid 
temple  of  the  god  Toom,  the  spacious  and  fortified 
storehouse,  presented  a  strange  spectacle.  The 


124  JOSHUA. 

long,  white,  lime-washed  walls  gleamed  as  usual 
through  the  dusk  ;  but  it  no  longer  towered  in  death- 
like silence  over  the  sleeping  town ;  all  about  it  was 
stir  and  bustle.  It  did  duty  as  a  fortress  against  the 
plundering  tribes  of  Shasoos*  who  had  made  their 
way  round  the  outworks  on  the  isthmus,  and  an 
Egyptian  garrison  dwelt  within  its  indestructible 
walls,  which  could  easily  be  held  against  very  supe- 
rior numbers. 

This  morning  it  might  have  been  supposed  that 
the  sons  of  the  desert  had  taken  it  by  storm,  but 
the  men  and  women  who  were  so  busy  round  the 
walls  and  on  the  broad  marble  parapet  of  the  huge 
building  were  not  Shasoos,  but  Hebrews.  With 
shouts  and  demonstrations  of  joy  they  were  taking 
possession  of  the  thousands  of  measures  of  wheat 
and  barley,  rye  and  doorah,  lentils,  dates  and  onions 
which  they  had  found  in  those  vast  lofts,  and  had 
set  to  work  before  sunrise  to  empty  the  storehouse 
and  pack  the  contents  into  sacks  and  pitchers  and 
skins,  into  kneading-trough s,  jars  and  sheets,  let 
down  from  the  roof  by  cords  or  carried  up  and  down 
on  ladders. 

The  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  indeed,  took  no  part  in  the 
work,  but  in  spite  of  the  early  hour  children  of  all 
ages  might  be  seen,  as  busy  as  the  rest,  carrying  as 
much  as  they  could  lift  in  pots  and  bowls — their 
mothers'  cooking  vessels. 

Above,  close  to  the  opened  trapdoors  of  the  lofts, 

*  Bedouins,  whose  nomad  hordes  swarmed  in  the  desert  ad- 
joining Egypt  on  the  east,  now  regarded  as  belonging  to  Asia. 


JOSHUA.  125 

into  which  the  stars  shone  down,  and  round  the  foot 
of  the  ladders  below,  women  held  lanterns  or  torches 
to  light  the  others  at  their  work.  Flaring  pitch 
brands  were  burning  in  front  of  the  ponderous  closed 
doors,  and  armed  shepherds  were  pacing  up  and 
down  in  the  light  of  the  blaze.  "When,  now  and 
again,  there  was  a  sound  within  as  of  a  stone  thrown, 
or  a  kick  against  the  brass-bound  door,  and  threat- 
ening words  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  the  Hebrews 
outside  were  ready  enough  with  shouts  of  mockery 
and  scorn. 

On  the  day  of  the  harvest-festival,  at  the  hour  of 
the  first  evening  watch,  certain  swift  runners  had 
come  to  Succoth  and  had  announced  to  the  sons  of  Is- 
rael who  dwelt'there,  and  whose  number,  were  twenty- 
fold  as  great  as  those  of  the  Egyptians,  that  they  had 
started  from  Tanis  early  that  morning,  that  their 
people  were  to  depart  thence  that  night,  and  that 
their  kindred  of  Succoth  were  to  make  ready  to  fly 
with  them.  At  this  there  had  been  great  rejoicing 
among  the  Hebrews.  They,  like  their  fellow-Israel- 
ites of  Tanis,  had  assembled  together  that 'night  of 
the  new  moon  after  the  spring  equinox,  when  the 
harvest-festival  began,  to  a  solemn  feast,  and  the 
heads  of  their  households  had  declared  to  them  that 
the  day  of  freedom  was  now  at  hand,  and  that  the 
Lord  was  about  to  lead  them  forth  to  the  promised 
land. 

Here,  as  at  Tanis,  many  had  been  faint-hearted 
and  rebellious,  and  others  had  attempted  to  separate 
their  lot  from  that  of  the  rest  and  so  remain  behind ; 


126  JOSHUA. 

but  here,  too,  they  had  been  carried  away  by  the 
multitude.  And  as  Aaron  and  Nun  had  addressed 
the  people  at  Tanis,  so  here  Eleazar  the  son  of  Aaron, 
and  Hur,  and  Nahshon,  the  heads  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  had  done  the  same.  And  Miriam,  the  maiden 
sister  of  Moses,  had  gone  from  house  to  house,  and 
with  her  glowing  words  had  lighted  and  fanned  the 
flames  of  enthusiasm  in  the  hearts  of  the  men,  and 
persuaded  the  women  that,  Avith  the  morning's  sun, 
a  day  of  gladness,  plenty,  and  freedom  would  dawn 
on  them  and  on  their  children. 

Few  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  prophetess,  and 
there  was  something  majestic  and  commanding  in 
the  presence  of  this  maiden,  whose  large,  black 
eyes,  overarched  by  thick,  dark  eyebrows  which  met 
in  the  middle,  seemed  to  read  the  hearts  of  those 
they  gazed  on,  and  to  awe  the  refractory  with  their 
solemn  gleam. 

When  the  feast  was  over  each  household  had  re- 
tired to  rest  with  hopeful  and  uplifted  hearts.  But 
the  next  day  and  the  following  night  and  dawn  had 
changed  everything.  It  was  as  though  the  desert 
wind  had  buried  all  courage  and  confidence  in  the 
sand  it  swept  before  it.  The  dread  of  wandering 
through  the  unknown  had  crept  again  into  every 
soul,  and  many  a  one  who  had  brandished  his  staff 
with  the  high  spirit  of  enterprise  now  clung  ob- 
stinately to  the  house  of  his  fathers,  to  his  well- 
tended  garden  plot,  and  to  the  harvest  in  the  fields, 
of  which  not  more  than  half  was  yet  garnered. 

The  Egyptian  garrison  in  the  fortified  storehouse 


JOSHUA.  127 

had  not  indeed  failed  to  observe  that  some  unusual 
excitement  prevailed  among  the  Hebrews,  but  they 
had  ascribed  it  to  the  harvest-feast.  The  com- 
mander of  the  fort  had  heard  that  Moses  desired  to 
lead  his  people  forth  into  the  desert,  there  to  sacrifice 
to  their  God,  and  he  had  asked  for  re-inforcements. 
But  he  knew  nothing  more,  for  till  the  morning 
when  the  hot  wind  had  arisen  no  Hebrew  had  bo- 
tray  ed  his  brethren's  purpose.  On  that  day,  however, 
as  the  heat  oppressed  them  more  and  more,  the 
greater  grew  the  dread  of  the  terrified  people  of 
marching  ever  onward  through  the  scorching,  sandy 
and  waterless  waste.  This  fearful  day  was  but  a 
foretaste  of  what  lay  before  them,  and  when  toward 
midday  the  dust  cloud  was  yet  denser  and  the 
air  more  suffocating,  a  Hebrew  dealer,  from  whom 
the-  Egyptian  soldiers  would  purchase  small  wares, 
stole  into  the  storehouse  and  instigated  the  captain 
to  hinder  his  fellow-Hebrews  from  rushing  to  de- 
struction. 

Even  among  the  better  sort  the  voice  of  discontent 
had  been  loud  ;  Izehar  and  Michael  and  their  sons, 
who  disliked  the  power  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  had 
gone  from  one  to  another  and  tried  to  incite  them 
to  call  the  elders  together  again  before  they  set 
forth,  and  ask  them  whether  it  would  not  be  wiser 
to  make  terms  with  the  Egyptians. 

"While  these  malcontents  had  succeeded  in  as- 
sembling many  followers,  and  the  traitor  had  gone 
to  the  captain  of  the  Egyptian  garrison,  t\vo  more 
runners  had  come  in  with  a  message  to  say  that  the 


128  JOSHUA. 

multitude  of  the  Hebrew  fugitives  would  arrive  at 
Succoth  between  midnight  and  dawn. 

Breathless  and  speechless,  bathed  in  sweat  and 
bleeding  at  the  mouth,  the  elder  of  the  two  mes- 
sengers dropped  on  the  threshold  of  the  house  of 
Aminadab,  where  Miriam  just  now  was  dwelling. 
The  exhausted  men  had  to  be  revived  with  wine 
and  food  before  even  the  less  weary  one  could  speak 
coherently ;  and  then  in  a  husky  voice,  but  over- 
flowing with  thankfulness  and  enthusiasm,  he  told 
all  that  had  happened  at  their  departing,  and  how 
that  the  God  of  their  fathers  had  filled  all  hearts 
with  His  spirit,  and  infused  fresh  confidence  into  the 
most-  faint-hearted. 

Miriam  had  listened  with  flashing  eyes  to  this 
inspiring  tale,  and  then,  flinging  her  veil  about  her 
head,  she  bade  the  servants  of  the  house,  who  had 
collected  round  the  runners,  to  gather  all  the  people 
together  under  the  sycamore,  whose  broad  boughs, 
the  growth  of  a  thousand  years,  sheltered  a  wide 
space  from  the  scorching  sun. 

The  hot  wind  was  still  blowing,  but  the  glad 
tidings  seemed  to  have  broken  its  power  over  the 
spirits  of  men,  and  thousands  had  come  pouring  out 
to  assemble  under  the  sycamore.  Miriam  gave  her 
hand  to  Eleazar,  the  son  of  her  brother  Aaron, 
sprang  on  to  the  bench  which  stood  close  to  the  huge, 
hollow  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  in  a  loud  voice  prayed 
to  the  Lord,  raising  her  hands  and  eyes  to  Heaven, 
as  though  in  ecstasy  her  eyes  beheld  Him. 

Then  she  bade  the  messenger  speak,  and  when  he 


JOSHUA.  129 

had  once  more  declared  all  that  had  befallen  in 
Tanis,  a  loud  cry  went  up  from  the  multitude.  Then 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron,  described  in  glowing 
words  all  that  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  people,  and 
had  promised  to  them  and  their  children  and  their 
children's  children. 

Every  word  from  the  speaker's  eager  lips  had 
fallen  on  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  like  the  fresh  dew 
of  morning  on  parched  grass.  The  believers  had 
shouted  greeting  to  him  and  to  Miriam,  and  the 
faint-hearted  had  found  new  wings  of  hope.  Izehar 
and  Michael  and  their  followers  murmured  no  more ; 
nay,  most  of  them  had  caught  the  general  enthusiasm ; 
and  when  presently  a  Hebrew  soldier  of  the  garrison 
stole  out  from  the  storehouse  and  revealed  to  them 
that  his  chief  had  been  informed  of  what  was  going 
forward,  Eleazar,  Nahshon,  Hur,  and  some  others 
had  held  a  council  Avith  the  shepherds  present,  and 
had  urged  them  in  fiery  language  to  show  now  that 
they  were  men  and  not  afraid  to  fight,  with  God's 
mighty  help,  for  their  nation  and  its  freedom.  There 
was  no  lack  of  axes,  staves,  sickles  and  brazen  pikes, 
of  heavy  poles  and  slings,  the  shepherds'  weapons 
against  the  beasts  of  the  desert,  though  of  bows 
and  arrows  they  had  none.  A  strong  force  of  power- 
ful herdsmen  had  collected  round  Hur,  and  they  at 
once  had  marched  upon  the  Egyptian  overseers  who 
were  in  authority  over  some  hundreds  of  Hebrew 
bondsmen  toiling  at  the  earthworks. 

"With  the  cry,  "  They  are  coming  !  Down  with 
the  oppressors  ?  The  Lord  our  God  is  our  Captain  !  * 
9 


130  JOSHUA. 

they  threw  themselves  on  the  Libyan  guard,  scattered 
them  abroad  and  released  the  Hebrew  laborers  and 
stone-hewers.  The  noble  Nahshon  had  set  the  ex- 
ample of  clasping  one  of  the  hapless  serfs  as  a  bro- 
ther to  his  heart,  and  then  the  others  embraced  the 
men  they  had  set  free,  and  thus  the  shout :  "  They 
are  coming !  The  Lord  God  of  our  fathers  is  our 
Captain !  "  rang  out  far  and  wide.  When  at  last 
the  handful  of  shepherds  had  swollen  to  a  thou- 
sand, Hur  had  led  them  on  to  meet  the  Egyptian 
warriors,  whose  numbers  were  far  inferior. 

The  garrison,  indeed,  was  but  a  handful ;  the  He- 
brew host  was  now  beyond  counting. 

The  Egyptian  archers  had  shot  a  flight  of  arrows, 
and  the  slings  of  the  stalwart  Hebrews  had  sent  a 
shower  of  deadly  pebbles  among  the  foremost  of  the 
foe,  when  a  trumpet-call  was  heard  calling  the  party 
of  soldiers  back  into  the  shelter  of  the  scarped  walls 
and  stout  doors.  The  Egyptian  chief  had  judged 
the  Hebrew  force  too  great,  and  his  first  duty 
was  to  hold  the  fort  till  re-inforcements  should 
arrive. 

But  Hur  had  not  been  content  with  this  first  vic- 
tory. Success  had  fanned  the  courage  of  his  fol- 
lowers as  a  fresh  breeze  fans  a  smouldering  fire ; 
whenever  an  Egyptian  showed  himself  on  the  roof 
of  the  storehouse  a  smooth  pebble  hit  him  sharply 
from  the  sling  of  a  shepherd  marksman.  By 
Nahshon's  orders  ladders  were  brought  out.  In  an 
instant  the  besiegers  were  swarming  up  the  building 
on  all  sides,  and  after  a  short  and  bloodless  struggle 


JOSHUA.  131 

the  stores  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Hebrews.  The 
Egyptians  could  only  keep  possession  of  the  ad- 
joining stronghold. 

Meanwhile  the  wind  had  fallen.  The  more  furious 
of  the  released  bondsmen  had  piled  straw,  timber 
and  brushwood  before  the  door  of  the  little  fort 
into ,  which  the  Egyptians  had  retired,  and  they 
could  without  difficulty  have  destroyed  the  foe  to 
the  last  man  by  fire  ;  but  Hur,  Nahshon,  and  the 
other  wiser  heads  among  the  Hebrews  had  not  per- 
mitted the  destruction  of  the  victuals  laid  up  in  the 
great  storehouse. 

It  had,  indeed,  been  no  easy  matter  to  keep  the 
younger  men  among  the  oppressed  serfs  from  this 
deed  of  vengeance,  but  they  all  belonged  to  some 
family  in  the  settlement ;  and  as  Hur's  prohibition 
was  supported  by  the  commands  of  their  parents, 
they  were  soon  not  merely  pacified,  but  ready  to 
help  in  distributing  the  co.ntents  of  the  granaries 
among  the  households,  and  in  loading  them  into 
carts  or  on  to  beasts  of  burden,  to  be  carried  off  by 
the  fugitives. 

All  this  took  place  by  the  flaming  light  of  torches, 
and  it  soon  had  assumed  the  character  of  an  orgie, 
for  neither  Nahshon  nor  Eleazar  had  been  able  to 
hinder  the  men  and  women  from  opening  the  wine 
skins  and  jars.  However,  they  succeeded  in  saving 
the  larger  part  of  the  precious  booty  for  the  time  of 
need,  and  although  there  were,  indeed,  too  many 
drunk,  the  strong  juice  of  the  grape  and  their  glee 
at  securing  so  much  plunder  moved  the  multitude  to 


132  JOSHUA. 

thankfulness.  When  at  length  Eleazar  went  among 
them  once  more  to  speak  to  them  of  the  Promised 
Land  they  were  ready  to  listen  to  him  with  uplifted 
hearts,  and  joined  in  a  hymn  of  praise  started  by 
Miriam. 

As  in  Tanis  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  had  fallen  on 
the  people  in  the  hour  of  their  departing,  so  now  in 
Succoth.  When  some  seventy  men  and  women  who 
had  hidden  themselves  in  the  temple  of  Toon  heard 
the  song  of  triumph,  they  came  forth  and  joined  the 
rest,  and  packed  up  their  possessions  with  as  much 
glad  hope  and  confidence  in  the  God  of  thejr  fathers 
as  if  they  had  never  murmured  at  departing. 

As  the  stars  faded,  joy  and  excitement  increased. 
Men  and  women  went  out  in  troops  on  the  road  to 
Tanis  to  meet  their  brethren.  Many  a  father  led 
his  youthful  son  by  the  hand,  many  a  mother  carried 
her  infant  on  her  arm ;  for  there  were  kindred  to 
greet  in  the  coming  multitude,  and  this  day  must 
bring  some  moments  of  solemn  joy  in  which  all  Avho 
were  near  and  dear  must  share,  and  which  even  the 
youngest  child  would  remember  when  he  himself 
had  children  and  grandchildren. 

None  sought  his  bed  in  tent,  hut  or  house,  for 
every  hand  was  needed  to  finish  the  work  of  pack- 
ing. The  crowd  of  toilers  in  the  storehouse  had 
diminished,  and  most  households  were  furnished 
with  as  much  food  as  they  could  carry  away. 

In  front  of  the  tents  and  hovels  men  and  women, 
ready  to  depart,  were  camping  round  hastily -lighted 
fires,  and  in  the  farm  yards  the  cattle  were  being 


JOSHUA.  133 

/ 

driven  together,  and  such  beasts  and  sheep  as  were 
unfit  to  march  were  at  once  slaughtered.  Outside 
many  of  the  houses  men  plied  the  axe  and  hammer, 
and  the  sound  of  sawing  was  heard,  for  litters  and 
couches  had  to  be  hastily  constructed  for  the  sick 
and  feeble.  Here,  again,  chariots  and  wagons  were 
still  being  loaded,  and  husbands  had  no  small  trouble 
with  their  wives  ;  for  it  is  always  hard  to  forfeit  a 
possession,  be  it  great  or  small,  and  a  woman's  heart 
often  clings  more  fondly  to  some  worthless  trifle 
than  to  the  most  precious  object  she  owns.  When 
Rebecca  was  eager  to  carry  away  the  roughly-made 
cradle  in  which  her  infant  died  rather  than  the 
beautiful  ebony  chest  inlaid  with  ivory  which  her 
husband  had  taken  in  pledge  from  an  Egyptian,  who 
could  blame  her  ?  Lights  shone  from  every  window 
and  tent  door,  and  torches  or  lanterns  blazed  from 
the  roof  of  all  the  better  dwellings  to  welcome  the 
coming  host. 

At  the  feast  which  had  been  held  on  the  night  of 
the  harvest  festival  not  a  table  had  lacked  its  lamb 
roast  with  fire,  but  in  this  hour  of  waiting  the  house- 
wives again  oifered  such  food  as  they  had  ready. 
The  narrow  street  of  the  little  town  was  alive  with 
stir ;  the  waning  stars  had  never  before  looked 
down  on  such  joyful  faces,  such  bright  and  eager 
eyes,  such  beaming  looks  of  hope  and  happy  faith. 


134  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WHEN  morning  dawned  all  those  who  had  not 
already  gone  forth  to  greet  the  wanderers  were 
gathered  on  the  roof  of  one  of  the  largest  houses  in 
Succoth,  where  the  coming  Hebrews  were  to  make 
their  first  long  halt. 

Hurrying  on  before  them,  fleet-footed  men  and 

*/          o  ' 

boys,  one  after  another,  arrived  in  the  town. 
Aminadab's  house  was  their  goal.  It  consisted  of 
two  buildings,  one  of  which  was  inhabited  by  !Nah- 
shon,  the  son  of  the  owner,  and  his  family.  In  the 
other  and  larger  part,  besides  the  master  of  the 
house  and  his  wife,  his  son-in-law,,  Aaron,  dwelt  with 
his  wife,  children  and  grandchildren,  and  also 
Miriam. 

The  old  man,  a  prince  of  a  tribe,  who  had  given 
over  the  duties  connected  with  his  position  to  his 
son  Nahshon,  stretched  out  his  trembling  hands  to- 
ward each  messenger,  and  listened  to  his  story  with 
sparkling  eyes  that  were  nearly  blinded  by  tears. 
He  had  persuaded  his  old  wife  to  sit  in  the  arm- 
chair in  which  she  was  to  be  carried  after  their 
people,  so  that  she  might  become  accustomed  to  it, 
and  for  the  same  reason  he  was  reclining  in  his. 

When  the  old  woman  heard  the  messengers  an- 


JOSHUA.  135 

nounce  that  the  glorious  future  that  had  been  prom- 
ised the  people  was  now  within  reach,  her  eyes 
sought  her  husband's  and  she  cried  :  "  Aye,  through 
Moses  ! "  For  she  held  the  brother  of  her  daughter's 
husband  in  high  esteem,  and  it  pleased  her  to  see 
his  prophecies  fulfilled.  She  looked  also  with  pride 
on  Aaron,  her  son-in-law :  but  above  all  she  loved 
Eleazar,  her  grandson,  in  whom  she  looked  forward 
to  the  development  of  a  second  Moses.  She  had 
found  Miriam,  after  the  death  of  her  parents,  a  very 
welcome  house  companion.  But  the  warm-hearted 
old  folks'  affection  for  the  grave  young  maid  never 
grew  to  parental  tenderness,  and  Elisheba,  Aaron's 
busy  wife,  would  not  share  the  cares  of  the  great 
household  with  Miriam  ;  nor  did  their  son  Nahshon's 
wife  need  her  help,  for  she,  indeed,  lived  with  her 
nearest  of  kin  under  their  own  roof.  But  the  old 
people  were  grateful  to  Miriam  for  her  care  of  their 
grandchild  Milcah,  the  daughter  of  Aaron  and 
Elisheba,  whom  a  great  misfortune  had  changed  from 
a  happy  child  into  a  melancholy  woman,  for  whom 
all  joy  was  dead.  A  few  days  after  her  marriage 
with  a  beloved  husband  he  had  allowed  himself,  in 
a  fit  of  wrath,  to  lift  his  hand  against  an  Egyptian 
taxgatherer,  who,  when  Pharaoh  was  passing  east- 
ward by  Succoth,  wanted  to  drive  off  a  large  herd 
of  his  finest  oxen  for  the  kitchen  of  the  Lord  of  two 
worlds.  In  consequence  of  this  self-redress  the  un- 
fortunate man  had  been  taken  as  a  State  prisoner 
to  work  in  the  mines,  and  it  was  well  known  that 
the  convicts  there  must  perish,  body  and  soul,  of 


136  JOSHUA. 

torturing  overwork.  Through  the  influence  of  Nun, 
Hosea's  father,  the  prisoner's  wife  and  household 
were  spared  from  sharing  this  punishment.  She, 
however,  pined  away  more  and  more,  and  the  only 
one  who  understood  the  way  to  rouse  the  pale,  silent 
wife  from  her  brooding  was  Miriam.  To  her  had 
the  deserted  woman  attached  herself,  and  she  fol- 
lowed Miriam  when  she  practised  the  medical  knowl- 
edge that  she  had  learned,  and  carried  remedies 
and  alms  into  the  huts  of  the  poor. 

The  last  messengers,  whom  Aminadab  and  his 
wife  received  on  the  roof,  painted  in  dark  colors  the 
pain  and  misery  of  the  wandering  of  which  he  had 
been  a  witness ;  but  when  a  soft-hearted  creature 
among  them  wept  aloud  at  the  great  sufferings  the 
women  and  children  had  undergone  during  the  gale 
from  the  desert,  and  gloomily  foretold  for  the  future 
liorrors  not  less  than  those  he  so  vividly  remembered, 
the  old  man  spoke  words  of  comfort  to  him,  remind- 
ing him  of  the  almighty  power  of  God,  and  of  the 
force  of  habit,  which  would  also  help  them.  His 
wrinkled  face  expressed  sincere  hope,  whereas  in 
Miriam's  beautiful  but  stern  features  there  was  little 
expression  of  the  religious  trust  of  which  youth 
usually  has  more  than  age. 

While  the  messengers  went  and  came  she  did 
not  stir  from  the  side  of  the  old  people,  and  left  it 
to  her  sister-in-law,  Elisheba,  and  her  serving  maids, 
to  give  refreshments  to  the  fatigued  wanderers.  She 
listened  to  them  intently  and  with  deep-drawn 
breath,  though  it  appeared  to  her  that  all  she 


JOSHUA.  137 

learned  foreboded  trouble.  For  she  knew  that  only 
those  who  were  attached  to  her  brothers,  the  leaders 
of  the  people,  would  have  found  their  way  into  the 
house  that  sheltered  Aaron ;  and  if  their  gladness 
was  already  drooping  how  must  it  be  with  the  luke- 
warm and  recalcitrant  ? 

Now  and  then  she  would  ask  a  question,  as  well 
as  the  old  man,  and  as  she  spoke,  the  messengers, 
who  heard  her  voice  for  the  first  time,  looked  up  at 
her  in  surprise,  for  it  was  indeed  sweet,  though 
singularly  deep. 

After  several  runners  had  assured  her,  in  answer 
to  her  inquiry,  that  Hosea,  the  son  of  Nun,  had  not 
come  with  the  others,  she  dropped  her  head  and 
asked  no  more,  until  pale  Milcah,  who  followed  her 
everywhere,  cast  a  beseeching  look  from  her  black 
eyes  and  whispered  "  Reuben,"  the  name  of  her  im- 
prisoned husband.  Then  the  young  girl  kissed  the 
lonely  child  and  looked  at  her  as  though  she  had 
neglected  something,  and  asked  the  messengers  with 
pressing  eagerness  if  they  had  heard  anything  of 
Reuben,  who  had  been  carried  away  to  the  mines. 
But  only  one  had  heard  from  a  released  criminal 
that  Milcah's  husband  was  alive  in  the  copper  mines 
in  the  district  of  Beck,  near  Mount  Sinai.  The 
news  encouraged  the  young  prophetess  to  assure 
Milcah  with  vivid  warmth  that  when  the  people 
should  march  eastward  they  would  certainly  go  to 
the  mines  to  release  the  captive  Hebrews  who  were 
there. 

These  were  good  words,   and  Milcah,  who  was 


138  JOSHUA. 

leaning  on  the  breast  of  her  comforter,  would  gladly 
have  heard  more,  but  those  who  were  looking  out 
into  the  distance  from  Aminadab's  roof  were  now  in 
great  excitement.  From  the  north  came  a  dark 
cloud,  and  directly  after  a  wonderful  muttering,  then 
a  loud  roar,  and  lastly  a  thousand-voiced  cry  and 
shout,  with  bellowing,  neighing  and  bleating,  such  as 
had  never  been  heard  before — and  the  multitudinous 
and  many-voiced  mass  of  men  and  herds  came  roll- 
ing along  in  that  interminable  stream  which  the  as- 
trologer's grandson,  when  watching  from  the  temple 
at  Tanis,  had  taken  for  the  serpent  from  the  nether 
world. 

Even  now,  by  the  light  of  dawn,  it  was  easy  to 
mistake  it  for  an  army  of  disembodied  spirits  driven 
from  the  stronghold  of  the  dead ;  for  a  pale  gray 
column  of  dust  reaching  to  the  blue  heavens  swept 
before  them,  and  no  single  figure  could  be  distin- 
guished among  the  immense,  swarming,  noisy  throng 
which  was  enveloped  in  the  cloud.  Every  now  and 
again  the  sunbeams  caught  the  metal  point  of  a 
lance  or  of  a  brass  vessel  with  at  bright  gleam,  and 
the  loud  shout  of  one  voice  could  be  heard  above 
the  others. 

Now  the  foremost  waves  of  the  stream  had 
reached  Aminadab's  court-yard,  in  front  of  which 
lay  a  vast  tract  of  pasture  lands. 

Commands  rang  out,  and  the  multitude  halted 
and  parted  like  a  mountain  lake  which,  flooded  in 
spring,  overflows  in  brooks  and  tiny  rills.  However, 
the  narrow  streams  soon  reunited,  and,  taking  pos- 


JOSHUA.  139 

session  of  the  broad,  level  meadows  now  wet  with 
morning  dew,  the  procession  of  men  and  beasts 
settled  down  to  rest,  and  there  the  veil  of  dust  that 
had  hidden  them  presently  vanished. 

The  road  remained  for  some  time  wrapped  in  the 
cloud,  but  in  the  fields,  men,  women  and  children 
were  to  be  seen  in  the  blaze  of  the  rising  sun,  with 
oxen  and  asses,  sheep  and  goats  ;  and  in  a  little 
while  tent  after  tent  was  erected  on  the  land  round 
Aminadab's  and  Nahshon's  houses.  The  cattle  were 
penned  in  with  hurdles ;  poles  and  stakes  were  driven 
into  the  hard  ground,  awnings  spread,  cows  fettered, 
herds  of  oxen  and  sheep  driven  to  water,  and  fires 
lighted.  Long  files  of  women,  carrying  jars  on  their 
heads,  which  they  balanced  with  easily  and  beauti- 
fully-curved arms,  passed  by  to  the  well  behind  the 
old  sycamore,  or  the  bank  of  the  nearest  canal. 

To-day,  as  on  every  other  work-day,  a  humped  ox 
turned  the  water  wheel.  It  irrigated  the  land  which 
the  owner  of  the  oxen  must  leave  on  the  morrow ; 
but  the  slave  that  drove  it  thought  not  of  the  mor- 
row, and,  as  no  one  hindered  him,  worked  on  in  the 
stolid  way  he  was  used  to,  watering  the  grass  for 
the  enemy  into  whose  hands  it  would  fall. 

It  was  a  long  hour  before  the  wandering  crowd 
had  all  reached  the  camp,  and  Miriam,  as  she  de- 
scribed to  Aminadab — whose  eyes  were  no  longer 
strong  enough  to  see  at  a  distance — what  \vas  going  on 
down  below,  beheld  many  a  sight  from  which  she 
would  gladly  have  turned  away  her  eyes. 

She  dared  not  tell  the  old  man  openly  all  she  saw, 


I4O  JOSHUA. 

for  it  would  have  destroyed  his  glad  hopefulness. 
She,  who  trusted  with  the  whole  ardor  of  an  in- 
spired soul  in  the  God  of  her  fathers,  had  shared  till 
yesterday  the  confidence  of  the  old  man,  although 
the  Lord  had  certainly  granted  her  the  fatal  gift  of 
seeing  things  and  hearing  words  no  one  else  could 
comprehend.  This  generally  took  place  in  her 
dreams,  but  also  in  lonely  hours  when  she  fixed  her 
mind  in  meditation  on  the  past  and  the  future. 

The  message  from  the  Most  High,  which  Ephraim 
had  carried  to  Hosea  in  her  name,  had  come  to  her 
from  invisible  lips  as  she  sat  under  the  sycamore, 
thinking  of  the  exodus,  and  of  the  man  she  had  loved 
from  her  childhood ;  and  this  very  morning,  between 
midnight  and  dawn,  as  she  lay  under  the  venerable 
tree,  overpowered  by  fatigue,  it  seemed  to  her  that 
she  had  again  heard  the  same  voice.  The  words  had 
vanished  from  her  mind  as  she  woke,  but  she  knew 
that  they  had  been  sad  and  ominous. 

Vague  as  the  warning  had  been,  it  still  haunted 
her  painfully,  and  the  cry  which  came  up  from  the 
plain  was  certainly  no  shout  of  joy  at  having  happily 
reached  their  brethren  and  the  first  stage  of  their 
wanderings,  as  the  old  man  at  her  side  believed  ; 
nay,  it  was  the  angry  cry  of  fierce,  ungoverned  men, 
wrangling  and  fighting  for  a  pleasant  spot  in  the 
meadow  whereon  to  pitch  their  tents,  or  for  a  good 
watering  place  for  their  beasts  by  the  well  or  on  the 
banks  of  the  water-courses. 

Rage,  disappointment  and  despair  were  heard  in 
that  cry  ;  and  presently,  looking  round  for  the  spot 


JOSHUA.  141 

whence  it  rose  the  loudest,  she  beheld  a  woman's 
corpse  borne  along  by  some  bondsmen  on  a  sheet  of 
tent-cloth,  and  a  pale  babe,  touched  by  the  h'nger  of 
death,  which  its  father,  a  wild-looking  fellow,  carried 
in  one  arm,  while  he  shook  his  clenched  left  hand, 
which  was  free,  with  threatening  gestures  in  the 
direction  of  her  brothers. 

And  in  a  moment  she  saw  an  old  man,  bent  with 
hard  labor,  lift  up  his  hand  against  Moses,  whom  he 
would  have  struck  to  the  ground  if  others  had  not 
dragged  him  away. 

She  could  no  longer  bear  to  stay  on  the  roof. 
Pale  and  panting  she  flew  out  to  the  camp.  Milcah 
followed  her  closely,  and  wherever  they  met  people 
belonging  to  Succoth  they  were  greeted  with  respect. 
The  people  of  Zoan,  and  those  of  Pha-kos,  whom 
they  met  in  the  way,  did  not  know  Miriam ;  still, 
the  prophetess'  tall  figure  and  noble  dignity  made 
them  move  aside  for  her,  or  reply  to  her  questions. 

Then  she  heard  terrible  and  evil  tidings,  for  the 
multitude  which  had  set  forth  so  joyfully  on  the  first 
day  had  crept  along  in  dejection  and  woe  on  the 
second.  The  hot  wind  had  broken  the  spirit  and 
strength  of  many  who  had  started  in  high  health, 
and  other  sick  folks,  besides  the  bondsman's  wife  and 
infant,  had  fallen  sick  of  fever  from  the  choking 
dust  and  scorching  heat,  and  the  speaker  pointed  to 
a  procession  making  its  way  to  the  Hebrew  burying- 
place  of  Succoth.  Nor  were  those  who  were  being 
borne  to  the  rest  whence  there  is  no  return,  women 
and  children  only,  or  such  as  their  kindred  had 


142  JOSHUA. 

brought  away  sick  rather  than  leave  them  behind ; 
but  likewise  men,  who  only  yesterday  had  been 
strong,  and  who  had  either  sunk  under  too  heavy 
a  burden  or  had  heedlessly  exposed  themselves  to 
the  sun's  rays  as  they  drove  their  herds  onward. 

In  one  tent  Miriam  found  a  young  mother,  who 
lay  trembling  with  fever,  and  she  bade  Milcah  go 
fetch  her  case  of  medicines.  The  forlorn  wife  gladly 
and  quickly  departed  on  this  errand.  On  her  way 
she  stopped  many  a  passer-by  to  inquire  timidly  for 
her  captive  husband,  but  she  could  get  no  news  of 
him.  Miriam,  however,  learned  from  Nun,  Ilosea's 
father,  that  Eliab,  the  freedman  he  had  left  behind, 
had  sent  him  word  that  his  son  was  ready  to  follow 
his  people.  She  also  heard  that  Ephraim  had  been 
hurt  and  had  found  shelter  in  Hosea's  tent. 

Was  the  lad  seriously  ill,  or  what  could  it  be  that 
detained  his  uncle  in  Tanis?  The  question  filled 
Miriam's  heart  with  fresh  anxiety,  yet  she  dispensed 
help  and  comfort  wherever  it  was  possible  with  un- 
flagging energy. 

Old  Nun's  hearty  greeting  had  cheered  her ;  and 
no  more  stalwart,  kind,  or  more  lovable  old  man 
could  be  imagined.  The  mere  sight  of  his  noble 
head  with  its  thick,  snow-white  hair  and  beard,  and 
the  bright  eyes  which  sparkled  with  youthful  fire  in 
the  handsome  face,  had  done  her  good  ;  and  when 
he  expressed  his  joy  at  seeing  her  once  more,  in  his 
vivid  and  winning  manner,  pressing  her  to  his  heart 
and  kissing  her  brow,  she  told  him  that  she  had  bid- 
den his  son,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  henceforth  to 


JOSHUA.  143 

bear  the  name  of  Joshua,  and  had  called  upon  him 
to  be  reunited  to  his  people  and  to  be  the  captain  of 
their  host.  Then  she  felt,  indeed,  as  though  she 
had  found  a  father  in  the  place  of  him  she  had  lost, 
and  applied  herself  with  renewed  vigor  to  the  stern 
duties  which  called  her  from  every  side. 

Nor  was  it  a  small  effort  to  the  lofty-minded 
maiden  to  devote  herself  with  loving  kindness  to  her 
fellow-creatures,  whose  wild  and  coarse  demeanor 
pained  her  soul.  The  women,  indeed,  were  glad  of 
help,  but  to  the  men,  who  had  grown  up  under  the 
overseer's  whip,  modesty  and  consideration  were  un- 
known. Their  minds  were  as  savage  as  their  man- 
ners. As  soon  as  they  knew  who  she  was,  they  re- 
viled her  because  her  brother  had  tempted  them  forth 
to  leave  endurable  woes  and  rush  to  a  fearful  fate ; 
and  as  she  heard  their  curses  and  blaspheming,  and 
saw  the  fierce  black  eyes  that  glittered  in  those 
brown  faces  all  hung  about  with  rough,  curling  black 
hair  and  beard,  her  heart  shrank  within  her.  And 
yet  she  was  able  to  control  her  fear  and  aversion ; 
her  pulses  throbbed  and  she  was  prepared  for  the 
worst,  yet  she  did  but  commend  the  men  who  were 
so  repulsive  to  her  to  the  God  of  their  fathers  and 
His  promises,  though  womanly  weakness  prompted 
her  to  flee.  lSrow,  indeed,  she  understood  what  the 
sad,  warning  voice  foreboded  which  she  had  heard 
under  the  sycamore,  and  as  she  stood  by  the  bed  of 
a  young  mother  sick  unto  death,  she  lifted  up  her 
hands  and  heart  to  the  Most  High,  and  made  a  vow 
that  she  would  dedicate  all  her  power  to  fight 


144  JOSHUA. 

against  the  faint-hearted  want  of  faith  and  the  wild 
insubordination  which  threatened  to  bring  her  peo- 
ple into  great  straits.  The  Lord  Almighty  had  prom- 
ised them  a  fair  land,  and  the  short-sighted  pride 
of  a  few  erring  ones  should  not  cheat  them  of  it. 
And  God  himself  could  hardly  be  wroth  with  a  race 
which  was  content  so  long  as  their  bodies  were  sup- 
plied with  the  food  they  needed,  and  which  had  en- 
dured scorn  and  blows  as  unresistingly  as  cattle. 
The  multitude  did  not  yet  understand  that  they 
must  live  through  the  night  of  their  present  woes 
to  be  worthy  of  the  day  which  awaited  them. 

Her  medicines  seemed  to  relieve  the  sick  woman, 
and  she  quitted  the  tent  in  revived  spirits  to  seek 
her  brothers. 

In  the  camp  matters  were  no  better,  and  again 
she  witnessed  many  scenes  which  shocked  her  soul 
and  made  her  regret  that  she  had  brought  with  her 
the  tender-hearted  Milcah. 

Certain  evildoers  among  the  bondsmen,  who  had 
laid  hands  on  the  cattle  and  goods  of  others,  had 
been  caught  and  tied  up  to  a  palm  tree ;  and  the  ra- 
vens which  had  followed  the  tribes,  and  had  found 
ample  food  by  the  way,  were  already  croaking 
greedily  round  the  hastily  contrived  gallows  tree. 

None  knew  who  was  judge  or  executioner  of  the 
sentence ;  but  the  owners  who  were  assisting  in  the 
deed  thought  themselves  fully  justified  and  gloried 
in  it.  With  hasty  steps  and  averted  headj  Miriam 
drew  the  trembling  Milcah  away  and  placed  her  in 
the  charge  of  her  uncle,  Nahshon,  to  be  conducted 


JOSHUA.  145 

home.  Nahshon  was  just  parting  from  the  man  who 
shared  with  him  the  rank  of  prince  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah.  This  was  that  same  Hur  who  had  won  the 
first  victory  against  the  Egyptians  at  the  head  of 
the  shepherds,  and  he  now  led  the  maiden  with 
happy  pride  towards  a  man  and  a  youth — his  son 
and  grandson.  They  had  both  been  in  the  service 
of  the  Egyptians,  and  at  Memphis  had  worked  as 
goldsmiths  and  brass-founders  to  Pharaoh.  The 
elder,  by  reason  of  his  skill,  had  received  the 
name  of  Uri,  or  the  Great;  and  the  son  of  this 
father,  Hur's  grandson,  Bezaleel,  was  said  to  be 
more  gifted  even  than  his  father,  though  as  yet 
hardly  more  than  a  youth. 

Hur  gazed  at  his  child  and  grandchild  with  jus- 
tifiable pride,  for  although  they  had  both  risen  to 
high  esteem  among  the  Egyptians  they  had  follow- 
ed without  demur  at  their  father's  bidding,  leaving 
behind  them  much  to  which  their  hearts  clung  and 
which  bound  them  to  Memphis,  to  join  the  wander- 
ing people  and  share  their  uncertain  fate. 

Miriam  warmly  greeted  the  newcomers  ;  and  the 
men  before  her,  representatives  of  three  generations, 
afforded  a  picture  on  which  no  kindly  eye  could  fail 
to  rest  with  pleasure.  The  grandfather  was  nigh 
on  fifty,  but,  although  there  was  much  silver  mingled 
Avith  his  ebony  black  hair,  he  still  held  himself  as 
straight  as  a  young  man,  and  his  thin,  sharply  cut 
features  revealed  an  unbending  determination,  which 
sufficiently  accounted  for  the  readiness  with  which 
his  son  and  grandson  had  obeyed  his  call.  Uri,  too, 
to 


146  JOSHUA. 

was  a  well-grown  man,  and  Bezaleel  a  lad  in  whom 
it  could  be  seen  that  he  had  made  good  use  of  his 
nineteen  years,  and  could  already  stand  firmly  on 
his  own  feet.  His  artist's  eye  sparkled  with  a  pecul- 
iar light,  and  when  presently  he  and  his  father 
took  leave  of  Miriam  to  pay  their  respects  to  Caleb, 
their  grandfather  and  greatgrandfather,  she  heartily 
congratulated  Hur,  her  brother's  truest  friend,  on 
having  such  descendants  to  keep  up  the  noble  race. 

At  this  Hur,  taking  her  hand,  exclaimed  with  a 
grateful  fervor,  which  sprang  from  his  heart,  and 
which  was  usually  foreign  to  the  stern,  imperious 
nature  of  this  chief  of  an  unruly  tribe  of  herdsmen  : 
"  Yes,  they  have  ever  been  good  and  true  and  duti- 
ful. God  hath  protected  them  and  granted  me  to 
see  this  joyf  ul  day.  Now  it  lies  with  you  to  make  it  a 
high  feast-day.  You  must  long  since  have  seen  that 
my  eye  was  ever  on  you,  and  that  you  are  dear  to 
my  heart.  I  as  a  man,  and  you  as  a  woman  are 
pledged  to  do  all  that  is  best  for  the  people  and 
their  welfare,  and  that  constitutes  a  bond  between 
us.  But  I  would  fain  be  bound  to  you  by  a  yet 
stronger  tie,  and  whereas  your  parents  are  dead,  and 
I  cannot  go  to  Amram  with  the  bride's  gift  in  my 
hand  and  pay  him  for  you,  I  ask  you  of  yourself  in 
marriage,  noble  maiden.  And  before  you  say  me 
yea  or  nay  let  me  tell  you  that  my  son  and  grand- 
son are  ready  to  honor  you  as  the  head  of  our  house 
as  they  honor  me,  and  that  I  have  your  brother's 
permission  to  approach  you  as  a  suitor." 

Miriam  had  listened  to  this  proposal  in  speechless 


JOSHUA.  147 

surprise.  She  held  the  man  who  pleaded  so  warmly 
in  high  esteem,  and  was  Avell  inclined  toward  him. 
Notwithstanding  his  ripe  age  he  stood  before  her  in 
all  the  strength  of  manhood  and  lofty  dignity,  and 
the  beseeching  of  his  eyes,  more  wont  to  command, 
went  to  her  soul. 

But  she  looked  for  another  with  ardent  longing, 
and  her  only  reply  was  a  regretful  shake  of  the 
head. 

But  this  man,  the  head  of  his  tribe,  who  was  ac- 
customed to  go  straight  to  the  end  of  anything  he 
had  resolved  upon,  was  not  deterred  by  this  silent 
rejection,  and  went  on  more  fervently  than  before : 
"  Do  not  in  one  moment  overthrow  the  cherished 
hopes  of  many  years!  Is  it  my  age  that  repels 
you : " 

And  once  more  Miriam  shook  her  head.  But  Hur 
again  spoke : 

"  That,  indeed,  was  what  troubled  me,  although 
in  strength  and  vigor  I  could  measure  myself  against 
many  a  younger  man.  And  if  you  could  but  over- 
look your  suitor's  gray  hairs  you  might  perhaps 
bring  yourself  to  consider  his  request.  Of  the  truth 
and  devotion  of  my  soul  I  will  say  nothing.  No 
man  sues  to  a  woman  at  my  age  unless  his  heart 
urges  him  with  great  power.  But  there  is  another 
thing  which  to  me  seems  of  no  less  weight.  I  would 
fain,  as  I  have  said,  take  you  home  to  my  house. 
There  it  stands  ;  it  is  strong  and  roomy  enough  ;  but 
from  to-morrow  a  tent  must  be  our  roof,  a  camp  our 
dwelling-place,  and  wild  deeds  will  be  done  there. 


148  JOSHUA. 

Look  only  on  the  hapless  creatures  they  have  bound 
to  that  palm  tree.  There  is  no  judge  to  try  the 
accused ;  the  hasty  impulse  of  the  people  is  their 
only  law.  No  one  is  secure  even  of  his  life,  least  of 
all  a  woman,  however  strong  she  may  feel  herself, 
who  casts  in  her  lot  with  those  against  whom  the 
multitude  murmur.  Your  parents  are  dead,  your 
brothers  might  protect  you,  but  if  the  multitude 
should  lay  hands  on  them  the  stone  over  which  you 
hoped  to  cross  the  flood  will  drag  you  to  the  bot- 
tom." 

"  And  if  I  were  your  wife,  drag  you  with  me,"  re- 
plied Miriam,  and  her  thick,  black  brows  were 
gloomily  knit. 

"  That  danger  I  am  prepared  to  face,"  answered 
Hur.  "  Our  lot  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord ;  my 
faith  is  as  firm  as  yours,  and  behind  me  stands  the 
whole  tribe  of  Judah,  which  follows  me  and  Nahshon 
as  a  flock  follows  a  shepherd.  Old  Nun  and  the 
Ephrairnites  are  faithful  to  us,  and  if  it  came  to  the 
worst  it  would  be  our  duty  to  perish  as  God  wills,  or, 
after  reaching  the  Promised  Land,  to  wait  in  pa- 
tience for  our  latter  end  in  faithful  union,  in  wealth 
and  power." 

At  this  Miriam  looked  him  full  and  fearlessly  in 
the  eyes,  and  laid  her  hand  on  his  arm,  saying  : 

"Such  words  are  worthy  of  the  man  I  have  re- 
vered from  my  childhood,  the  father  of  such  sons. 
Yet  I  cannot  be  your  wife." 

"You  cannot?" 

"  Nay,  my  lord,  I  cannot." 


JOSHUA.  149 

"  A  hard  saying,  but  I  must  be  content,"  replied 
Hur,  and  he  bowed  his  head  sadly. 

But  Miriam  went  on  : 

"  Kay,  Hur,  you  have  a  right  to  ask  the  reason  of 
my  refusal,  and  inasmuch  as  I  honor  you,  I  owe 
you  the  simple  truth.  My  heart  is  set  on  another 
man  of  our  people.  I  first  saw  him  while  I  was  but 
a  child.  Like  your  son  and  grandson,  he  joined 
himself  to  the  Egyptians.  But  he,  like  them,  has 
heard  the  call  of  God  and  of  his  father,  and  if  he, 
like  Uri  and  Bezaleel,  has  obeyed  them,  and  still 
desires  to  have  me  to  wife,  I  will  go  to  him  if  it  be 
the  Lord's  will,  whom  I  serve  and  who  grants  me 
of  His  grace  to  hear  His  voice.  But  I  will  ever 
think  thankfully  of  you."  As  she  spoke  the  girl's 
large  eyes  glistened  through  tears,  and  her  gray- 
haired  suitor's  voice  quivered  as  he  asked  her  shyly 
and  hesitatingly : 

"But  if  the  man  you  wait  for — I  do  not  seek  to 
know  his  name — if  he  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  the  call 
that  has  gone  forth  to  him,  if  he  refuses  to  throw  in 
his  lot  with  the  uncertain  lot  of  his  nation  ? " 

"  That  can  never  be  !  "  cried  Miriam ;  but  a  cold 
chill  ran  through  her  veins,  as  Hur  exclaimed : 

"  There  is  no  never,  no  certainty  save  with  God. 
And  if  in  spite  of  your  high  faith,  things  fall  out 
other  than  you  expect — if  the  Lord  deny  you  the 
desire  which  first  grew  up  in  your  heart  when  you 
were  yet  but  a  foolish  child  ? " 

"  Then  will  He  show  me  the  right  way,  by  which 
He  hath  led  me  until  now." 


150  JOSHUA. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Hur,  "  build  on  that  foundation ; 
and  if  the  man  of  your  choice  is  worthy  of  you  and 
becomes  your  husband,  my  soul  shall  rejoice  without 
envy  if  the  Lord  shall  bless  your  union.  But  if, 
indeed,  God  wills  it  otherwise,  and  you  shall  crave  a 
strong  arm  on  which  to  lean,  here  am  I.  The  heart 
and  the  tent  of  Hur  will  be  ever  open  to  you." 

He  hurried  away.  Miriam  gazed  after  him,  lost 
in  thought,  till  the  proud  and  princely  figure  was 
out  of  sight. 

Then  she  made  her  way  back  toward  the  home  of 
her  protectors  ;  but  as  she  crossed  the  wad  leading 
to  Tanis  she  paused  to  look  northward.  The  dust 
was  laid  and  the  road  could  be  traced  far  into  the 
distance ;  but  he,  the  one  who  should  be  riding  toward 
her  and  toward  his  people,  was  not  in  sight.  It  was 
with  a  heavy  sigh  and  drooping  head  that  she  went 
on  her  way,  and  the  sound  of  her  brother  Moses' 
deep  voice  made  her  start  as  she  reached  the  syca- 
more. 


JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AAEON  and  Eleazar  in  stirring  words  had  reminded 
the  murmuring,  disheartened  people  of  the  might 
and  promises  of  their  God.  Those  who  had  stretched 
themselves  out  quietly  to  rest,  after  being  refreshed 
by  drink  and  food,  found  their  lost  confidence  revived. 
The  freed  bondsmen  remembered  the  cruel  slavery 
and  degrading  blows  from  which  they  had  escaped, 
acknowledging,  as  the  others  did,  that  it  was  by 
God's  providence  that  Pharaoh  was  not  pursuing 
them.  The  rich  supplies,  which  were  still  being 
distributed  from  the  plundered  storehouse,  contrib- 
uted not  a  little  to  reanimate  their  courage,  and  the 
serfs  and  lepers — for  they,  for  the  most  part,  had 
marched  forth  also,  and  were  resting  outside  the 
camp — in  short,  all  those  for  whose  maintenance 
Pharaoh  had  provided,  knew  that  for  some  time 
they  were  secure  from  need  and  want.  Nevertheless 
there  was  no  lack  of  discontented  spirits,  and  now 
and  then,  without  any  one  knowing  who  had  started 
the  question,  it  was  asked  if  it  would  not  be  wiser  to 
turn  back  and  trust  to  Pharaoh's  forgiveness.  Those 
who  uttered  it  did  so  secretly,  and  had  often  to 
take  a  sharp  or  threatening  answer. 


lt>l  JOSHUA. 

Miriam  had  come  out  to  meet  her  brothers,  and 
shared  their  anxiety.  How  quickly  had  the  spirit 
of  the  people  been  broken  in  this  short  march  by  the 
hot  desert  wind !  How  impatient,  how  distrustful, 
how  rebellious  they  had  shown  themselves  at  the 
very  first  adversity !  How  unbridled  in  following 
their  own  wild  impulses ! 

When  they  had  been  called  together  for  prayer 
on  the  way,  a  short  time  before  sunrise,  some  had 
turned  toward  the  sun  as  it  rose  in  the  east,  some 
had  pulled  out  images  of  the  gods  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  and  others  again  had  fixed  their 
eyes  on  the  acacia-trees  by  the  road,  which  were  re- 
garded as  sacred  in  many  of  the  provinces  by  the 
Nile.  "What  indeed,  could  they  know  of  the  God 
who  had  commanded  them  to  leave  so  much  behind 
them  and  to  carry  such  a  burden  ?  Many  of  them 
were  even  now  quite  disheartened ;  and  as  yet  they 
had  faced  no  real  danger,  for  .Moses  had  purposed 
to  lead  his  people  by  the  direct  road  to  Philistia 
into  the  Promised  Land  of  Palestine,  but  their  de- 
meanor forced  him  to  give  up  this  plan  and  to 
think  of  another. 

In  order  to  reach  the  highway  which  connected 
Asia  and  Africa  it  was  necessary  to  pass  over  the 
isthmus  which  really  divides  rather  than  unites  the 
two  continents ;  but  it  was  well  defended  from  in- 
vaders, and  the  way  was  secure  against  fugitives, 
partly  by  natural  and  partly  by  artificial  obstacles* 
A  succession  of  deep  lakes  broke  the  level  land,  and 
where  these  did  not  check  the  wanderers'  march, 


JOSHUA.  153 

strong  fortifications  towered  up  in  which  lay  Egyp- 
tian troops  ready  to  fight. 

Khetam,  or,  as  the  Israelites  called  it,  Etham, 
was  the  name  of  this  range  of  forts,  and  the  nearest 
and  strongest  could  be  reached  in  a  few  hours  by 
the  tribes  who  were  marching  from  Succoth. 

With  the  people  full  of  the  spirit  of  their  God, 
inspired  and  prepared  for  the  worst,  freed  from 
their  chains  and  rejoicing  in  their  newly  gained 
liberty,  rushing  along  toward  the  Promised  Land, 
Moses  and  the  other  leaders  with  him  had  intended 
that,  like  a  mountain  torrent  bursting  through  dams 
and  sluices,  they  should  annihilate  and  destroy  all 
who  came  in  their  way.  With  this  inspirited  throng, 
whose  bold  advance  might  achieve  the  highest 
triumphs,  and  to  whom  cowardly  retreat  could  have 
meant  nothing  but  death  and  destruction,  they  had 
expected  to  overthrow  the  works  of  the  Etham 
frontier  like  a  pile  of  brushwood.  But  now  that  a 
few  short  hours  of  weariness  and  suffering  had 
quenched  the  fire  in  their  souls,  now  that  on  every 
side  could  be  seen  for  every  happy,  elated  man,  two 
indifferent  and  five  discontented  or  frightened,  the 
storming  of  the  Etham  lines  would  have  cost  streams 
of  blood  and  would  have  risked  all  that  they  had 
already  gained. 

The  conquest  of  the  little  garrison  in  the  store- 
house at  Pithom  happened  under  such  favorable 
circumstances  as  they  could  not  expect  to  occur 
again,  and  so  the  original  plan  had  to  be  altered, 
and  an  attempt  made  to  get  round  the  fortresses. 


154  JOSHUA. 

Instead  of  marching  north-east  the  people  turned 
toward  the  south.  But  before  this  could  be  accom- 
plished, Moses  and  a  few  proved  men  were  to  recon- 
noitre the  new  route,  and  see  whether  it  were  pass- 
able for  a  vast  multitude  on  foot. 

These  things  were  discussed  under  the  sycamore 
tree  in  front  of  Aminadab's  house,  and  Miriam  list- 
ened, a  mute  witness. 

When  the  men  held  counsel,  the  women,  and 
she  also,  had  to  be  silent  but,  she  found  it  hard  to 
hold  her  peace  when  they  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  must  avoid  attacking  the  forts,  even  if 
Hosea,  the  man  skilled  in  war  and  chosen  by  the 
Lord  Himself  to  be  the  sword  of  Jehovah,  should 
return. 

"  Of  what  avail  is  the  bravest  leader  when  there 
is  no  army  to  obey  him  ? "  cried  Nahshon,  the  son 
of  Aminadab,  and  the  rest  had  been  of  his  opinion. 

When  at  length  the  assembled  elders  parted, 
Moses  took  leave  of  his  sister  with  brotherly  tender- 
ness. She  knew  that  he  had  it  in  his  mind  to  go 
forth  into  fresh  dangers,  and  in  the  modest  way  she 
always  used  when  she  ventured  to  speak  to  the 
man  who,  in  body  and  mind,  was  so  far  above  all 
others,  she  told  him  of  her  fears.  He  looked  her  in 
the  face  with  kindly  reproof,  and  with  his  right 
hand  pointed  to  heaven.  She  understood  him,  and 
kissed  his  hand  with  grateful  warmth,  saying: 
"  Thou  art  under  the  shield  of  the  Most  High,  and  I 
fear  no  longer." 

He  pressed  his  lips  to  her  brow,  and  taking  her 


JOSHUA.  155 

tablets  from  her,  wrote  on  them  a  few  words  and 
cast  them  into  the  hollow  stem  of  the  sycamore. 

"  For  Hosea — nay,  for  Joshua,"  said  he,  "  if  he 
should  come  while  I  am  absent.  The  Lord  hath 
great  things  for  him  to  do  when  he  shall  have 
learned  to  trust  in  Him  rather  than  in  the  mighty 
ones  of  the  earth." 

He  quitted  her;  but  Aaron,  who,  as  being  the 
elder,  was  the  head  of  the  family,  remained  with 
Miriam  and  told  her  that  a  worthy  man  had  asked 
for  her  to  wife ;  she  turned  pale  and  answered  :  "  I 
know  it." 

He  looked  her  in  the  face,  much  surprised,  and 
went  on  in  a  tone  of  grave  warning : 

"  It  must  be  as  you  will,  but  it  would  be  well  that 
you  should  reflect  that  your  heart  belongs  to  God 
and  to  your  people ;  the  man  whom  you  marry  must 
be  as  ready  as  yourself  to  serve  them  both,  for  t\vo 
become  one  when  they  are  wed,  and  if  the  highest 
aim  of  one  is  as  naught  to  the  other  they  are  no 
more  one,  but  two.  The  voice  of  the  senses  which 
called  them  together  is  presently  silent,  and  what 
remains  is  a  gulf  between  them." 

With  these  words  he  left  her,  and  she,  too,  turned 
to  quit  the  assembly,  for  perhaps  now,  on  the  eve 
of  their  departing,  she  might  be  needed  in  the  house 
of  which  she  was  an  inmate ;  but  a  new  incident 
arose  to  keep  her  by  the  sycamore,  as  if  she  were 
bound  and  fettered  to  it. 

What  could  the  packing  matter  and  the  care  for 
perishable  treasure  and  worldly  goods,  when  ques- 


156  JOSHUA. 

tions  here  were  raised  which  stirred  her  whole  soul. 
There  was  Elisheba,  Nahshon's  wife,  and  any  house- 
wife or  slave  woman  could  do  the  home  work ;  here 
there  were  other  matters  to  decide,  the  weal  or  woe 
of  the  nation. 

Certain  men  of  the  better  sort  from  among  the 
people  had  by  this  time  joined  themselves  to  the 
elders  under  the  sycamore,  but  Hur  had  departed 
with  Moses. 

Now  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur,  came  into  the  group. 
He,  as  a  metal  worker,  but  just  come  from  Egypt, 
had  at  Memphis  had  dealings  with  many  about  the 
court,  and  he  had  heard  that  the  King  would  be 
willing  to  relieve  the  Hebrews  of  their  heaviest 
burdens  and  to  grant  them  new  privileges,  if  only 
Moses  would  entreat  the  God  he  served  to  be  favor- 
able to  Pharaoh  and  persuade  the  people  to  return 
as  soon  as  they  should  have  sacrificed  in  the  desert. 
So  the  assembly  now  proceeded  to  discuss  whether 
envoys  should  not  be  sent  to  Tanis  to  treat  once 
more  with  the  "  High  Gate." 

This  proposal,  which  he  had  not,  indeed,  dared  to 
lay  before  his  father,  had  been  made  by  Uri  in  all  good 
faith  to  the  assembled  elders,  and  he  hoped  that  its 
acceptance  might  save  the  Hebrews  much  suffering. 
But  hardly  had  he  ended  his  very  clear  and  persua- 
sive speech  when  old  Nun,  Hosea's  father,  who  had 
with  difficulty  held  his  peace,  started  up  in  wrath. 

The  old  man's  face,  usually  so  cheerful,  was  crim- 
son with  anger,  and  its  deep  hue  was  in  strange 
contrast  with  the  thick,  "\yhite  hair  which  hung  about 


JOSHUA.  157 

it.  Only  a  short  while  since  he  had  heard  Moses 
reject  similar  proposals  with  stern  decision  and  the 
strongest  arguments  ;  and  now  must  he  hear  them 
repeated  ?  And  by  many  signs  of  approval  on  the 
part  of  those  assembled  he  saw  that  the  great  under- 
taking for  which  he,  more  than  any  one,  had  staked 
and  sacrificed  his  all,  was  imperilled.  It  was  too 
much  for  the  vehement  old  man,  and  it  was  with  a 
flashing  eye  and  threatening  fists  that  he  exclaimed  : 

"What  words  are  these?  Shall  we  reknit  the 
ends  of  the  cord  which  the  Lord  our  God  hath  cut  ? 
Are  we  to  tie  it,  do  you  say,  with  a  knot  so  loose 
that  it  will  hold  just  so  long  as  the  present  mood  of 
an  irresolute  weakling,  who  has  broken  his  word  to 
Moses  and  to  us  a  score  of  times  ?  Would  you  have 
us  return  into  the  cage  from  which  the  Almighty 
hath  released  us  by  a  miracle  ?  Are  we  to  stand 
before  the  Lord  our  God  as  false  debtors  ?  Shall 
we  take  the  false  gold  which  is  offered  us  rather 
than  the  royal  treasure  which  he  hath  promised  us  I 
Oh,  man  !  You  who  have  come  from  the  Egyptian  ( 
I  would  I  could — 

And  the  fierce  old  man  shook'  his  fist ;  but  before 
he  had  spoken  the  threat  which  was  on  his  lips  he 
ceased  and  his  arm  fell,  for  Gabriel,  the  elder  of  the 
tribe  of  Zebulon,  called  out : 

"  Remember  your  own  son,  who  at  this  day  is 
still  content  to  dwell  among  the  enemies  of  Israel ! " 

The  blow  had  told ;  but  it  was  only  for  a  moment 
that  the  fiery  patriarch's  high  spirit  was  quelled. 
Above  the  hubbub  of  voices  which  rose  in  disap- 


158  JOSHUA. 

proval  of  Gabriel's  malice,  and  the  lesser  number 
who  took  part  with  him,  Nun's  was  heard  :  "  It  is 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that,  besides  the  loss  of  the 
ten  thousand  acres  of  land  which  I  have  left  behind, 
I  may,  perchance,  have  also  to  sacrifice  my  noble 
son  in  obedience  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  I 
have  a  right  to  speak  my  mind." 

His  broad  breast  heaved  sorrowfully  as  he  spoke, 
and  now  his  eyes,  beneath  their  thick,  white  brows, 
fell  with  a  milder  gleam  on  the  son  of  Hur,  who 
had  turned  pale  under  this  violent  address,  and  he 
went  on :  "  This  man  is  indeed  a  good  son  and  obe- 
dient to  his  father,  and  he,  too,  has  made  a  sacrifice, 
for  he  has  come  away  from  his  work,  in  which  he 
won  great  praise,  and  from  his  home  in  Memphis, 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  rest  upon  him  !  But 
inasmuch  as  he  has  obeyed  that  bidding,  he  ought 
not  to  try  to  undo  that  which,  by  the  Lord's  help, 
we  have  begun.  And  to  you,  Gabriel,  I  say  that 
my  son  is  of  a  surety  not  content  to  dwell  with  the 
enemy ;  nay,  that  he  will  obey  my  voice  and  join 
himself  to  us,  even  as  Uri  the  first-born  son  of  Hur. 
Whatever  keeps  him  back,  it  is  some  good  reason  of 
which  Hosea  need  not  be  ashamed,  nor  I,  his  father. 
I  know  him.  I  trust  him  for  that ;  and  he  who 
looks  for  aught  else  from  him  will  of  a  surety,  by 
my  son's  dealings,  sooner  or  later,  be  shown  to  be  a 
liar." 

He  ceased,  pushing  his  white  hair  back  from  his 
heated  brow ;  and  as  no  one  contradicted  him  he 
turned  again  to  the  metal  worker,  saying  with  hearty 


JOSHUA.  159 

kindness :  "  It  was  not  your  meaning,  Uri,  which 
roused  my  ire.  Your  will  is  good  ;  but  you  have 
measured  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the  God  of  our 
fathers  by  the  standard  of  the  false  gods  of  the 
Egyptians,  who  perish  and  revive  again,  and,  as 
Aaron  has  said,  are  but  a  small  part  of  Him  who  is 
in  all,  and  through  all,  and  above  all.  Till  Moses 
showed  me  the  way,  I,  too,  believed  I  was  serving 
the  Lord  by  slajdng  an  ox,  a  lamb  or  a  goose  on  an 
altar,  as  the  Egyptians  do  ;  and  now,  if  your  eyes 
are  opened,  as  mine  were  by  Moses,  to  behold  Him 
who  rules  the  world  and  who  hath  chosen  us  to  be 
His  people,  you,  like  me  and  all  of  us — yes,  and  ere 
long  my  own  son — will  feel  the  fire  kindled  for 
sacrifice  in  your  own  hearts — a  fire  that  never  dies 
out,  and  consumes  everything  which  does  not  turn 
to  love,  and  truth,  and  faith,  and  worship  of  Him. 
For  the  Lord  hath  promised  us  great  things  by  the 
word  of  His  servant  Moses :  Redemption  from 
bondage,  that  we  may  be  free  lords  and  masters 
henceforth  on  our  own  soil  and  in  a  fair  land  which 
is  ours  and  our  children's  forever  !  We  are  on  our 
way  to  this  gift,  and  whosoever  would  delay  us  on 
our  way,  or  desire  us  to  return  and  crawl  back  into 
the  net  whose  meshes  of  brass  we  have  burst  asunder, 
counsels  the  people  to  become  as  sheep  who  leap 
back  into  the  fire  from  which  they  have  escaped.  I 
am  not  wroth  with  you  now,  for  I  read  in  your  face 
that  you  know  how  greatly  you  have  erred ;  but 
hereby  ye  all  shall  know  that  I  heard  from  the  lips 
of  Moses  but  a  few  hours  since,  that  whosoever  shall 


l6o  JOSHUA. 

counsel  a  return  or  any  covenant  with  the  Egyptians, 
he  himself  will  accuse  as  contemning  the  Lord 
Jehovah  our  God,  and  as  the  destroyer  and  foe  of 
his  people." 

At  this  Uri  went  up  to  the  old  man,  held  out  his 
hand,  and  deeply  persuaded  in  his  heart  of  the 
justice  of  his  reproof,  exclaimed  :  "  No  dealings,  no 
covenant  with  the  Egyptians !  And  I  am  grateful 
to  you,  Nun,  for  having  opened  my  eyes.  The  hour 
is  at  hand  when  you,  or  another  who  stands  nearer 
to  Him  than  I,  shall  teach  me  to  know  more  per- 
fectly the  God  who  is  my  God  likewise." 

Hereupon  he  went  away  with  the  old  man,  who 
leaned  his  arm  upon  his  shoulder. 

Miriam  had  listened  with  breathless  eagerness  to 
Uri's  last  appeal,  and  when  he  gave  utterance  to  the 
wish  to  know  more  perfectly  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
her  eyes  shone  with  inspired  ecstasy.  She  felt  that 
her  spirit  was  full  of  the  greatness  of  the  Most  High, 
and  that  she  had  the  gift  of  speech  wherewith  to 
make  known  to  others  the  knowledge  she  herself 
possessed.  But  the  custom  of  her  people  required 
her  to  be  silent.  Her  heart  burned  within  her ;  and 
when  she  had  again  mingled  with  the  crowd,  and 
assured  herself  that  Hosea  was  not  yet  come,  as  it 
was  now  dusk  she  went  up  to  the  roof,  there  to  sit 
with  the  others. 

None  seemed  to  have  missed  her,  not  even  poor, 
forlorn  Milcah,  and  she  felt  herself  alone  indeed  in 
this  house.  If  Joshua  might  but  come  !  If  only  she 
might  find  a  strong  breast  on  which  to  lean,  if  this 


JOSHUA.  l6l 

sense  of  being  a  stranger  among  her  kindred  might 
have  an  end — this  useless  life  under  the  roof  which 
she  must  call  her  home,  although  she  had  never  felt 
at  home  there ! 

Moses  and  Aaron,  her  brothers,  had  departed,  and 
had  taken  with  them  Hur's  grandson ;  and  she,  who 
lived  and  breathed  only  for  her  people  and  their 
well-being,  had  not  been  found  worthy  to  be  told 
more  particularly  whither  they  were  faring,  or  to 
what  end.  Ah !  why  had  the  Almighty,  to  whom 
she  had  devoted  herself,  body  and  soul,  given  her 
the  spirit  and  mind  of  a  man  in  the  form  of  a 
woman  ? 

She  waited  awhile  as  if  to  see  Avhether,  of  all 
this  circle  of  kind  hearts,  her  kith  and  kin,  there 
was  not  one  to  love  her,  listening  to  the  chatter  of 
old  and  young  who  surrounded  her ;  but  Eleazar's 
children  gathered  about  their  grandparents,  and  she 
had  never  had  the  art  of  attracting  the  little  ones. 
Dame  Elisheba  was  directing  the  slaves  who  were 
putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the  baggage.  Milcah 
sat  with  a  cat  in  her  lap,  gazing  into  vacancy,  and 
the  bigger  lads  were  out  of  doors.  No  one  noticed 
her  or  spoke  to  her. 

Bitter  sorrow  fell  upon  her.  After  eating  her 
supper  with  the  others,  making  a  great  effort  not  to 
cast  the  gloom  of  her  own  dark  mood  over  the  happy 
excitement  of  the  children,  who  looked  forward 
with  great  glee  to  their  departing,  she  felt  she  must 
get  out  into  the  free  air. 

Yeiling  her  face  closely,  she  crossed  the   camp 
ii 


l62  JOSHUA. 

alone.  But  the  scenes  she  saw  there  were  ill-fitted 
to  lift  the  burden  that  weighed  upon  her.  It  was 
still  astir,  and  although  here  and  there  pious  songs 
rang  out,  full  of  triumph  and  hope,  there  was  more 
quarrelling  to  be  heard,  and  rebellious  uproar.  When- 
ever threats  or  reviling  against  her  great  brothers 
met  her  ear  she  hastened  forward  ;  but  she  could 
not  run  away  from  her  anxiety  as  to  what  might 
happen  at  sunrise,  when  the  people  were  to  set  forth, 
if  the  malcontents  gained  the  upper  hand.  She 
knew  that  the  multitude  must  necessarily  move  on- 
ward ;  still  she  had  never  been  able  to  subdue  her 
fears  of  Pharaoh's  mighty  army.  It  was  personified 
to  her  in  Hosea's  heroic  form.  If  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
Himself  were  not  with  the  ranks  of  these  wretched 
bondsmen  and  shepherds  who  were  squabbling  and 
fighting  all  about  her,  how  should  they  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  tried  and  well  armed  troops  of 
Egypt,  with  their  chariots  and  horses  ? 

She  had  heard  that  men  had  been  placed  on  guard 
at  every  part  of  the  camp,  and  ordered  to  blow  a 
blast  on  a  horn,  or  drum  on  a  metal  plate  in  the 
event  of  the  enemy's  approach,  till  the  Hebrews 
should  have  come  together  at  the  spot  where  the 
alarm  should  be  first  sounded. 

She  stood  for  some  time  listening  for  some  such 
call,  but  yet  more  eagerly  for  the  hoofs  of  a  solitary 
horse,  the  firm  tread  and  the  deep  voice  of  the 
warrior  for  whom  she  longed. 

Looking  for  him  she  made  her  way  to  the  northern 
side  of  the  camp  next  the  road  to  Tanis,  where,  too, 


JOSHUA.  163 

by  Moses'  order,  the  larger  portion  of  the  fighting 
men  had  pitched  their  tents.  Here  she  had  hoped 
to  find  nothing  but  confidence,  but  as  she  listened  to 
the  talk  of  the  men-at-arms,  who  sat  in  large  parties 
round  the  watch-fires,  sie  shuddered  to  hear  that 
Uri's  counsel  had  reached  even  to  them.  Many  of 
them  were  husbands  and  fathers,  had  left  a  house 
or  a  plot  of  land,  a  business  or  an  office,  and  although 
many  spoke  of  the  commands  of  the  Lord  and  of  the 
fair  land  promised  them  by  God,  others  were  minded 
to  turn  back.  She  would  gladly  have  gone  among 
them  and  have  called  upon  these  blind  hearts  to 
obey  the  bidding  of  the  Lord  and  of  her  brother. 
But  here  again  she  must  keep  silence.  However, 
she  might  at  any  rate  listen,  and  she  was  most 
tempted  to  linger  where  she  might  expect  to  hear 
rebellious  words  and  counsels. 

There  was  a  mysterious  charm  in  this  painful  ex- 
citement. She  felt  as  though  she  had  been  robbed 
of  a  pleasure  when  the  fires  died  out,  the  men  retired 
to  rest  and  silence  fell. 

Now,  for  the  last  time,  she  gazed  out  on  the  way 
from  Tanis,  but  nothing  stirred  except  the  watch 
pacing  to  and  fro. 

As  yet  she  had  not  despaired  of  Hosea's  coming, 
for  the  bidding  she  had  sent  him  in  the  full  convic- 
tion that  it  was  the  Lord  Himself  who  had  chosen 
her  to  deliver  it  must  certainly  have  reached  him  ; 
now,  however,  as  she  read  in  the  stars  that  it  was 
past  midnight,  she  began  to  reflect  how  many  years 
he  had  dwelt  among  the  Egyptians,  and  that  he 


164  JOSHUA. 

might  think  it  unworthy  of  a  man  to  hearken  to  the 
call  of  a  woman,  even  when  she  spoke  in  the  name 
of  the  Most  High.  She  had  endured  much  humilia- 
tion this  day  ;  why  should  not  this  also  be  hanging 
over  her  ?  To  the  man  she  loved,  likewise,  she  ought, 
perhaps,  to  have  kept  silence  and  have  left  it  to  her 
brothers  to  declare  the  Lord's  behests  to  him. 


JOSHUA.  165 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

MUCH  disturbed  and  grieved  by  such  thoughts  as 
these,  Miriam  turned  her  steps  homewards  to  retire 
to  rest ;  but  as  she  reached  the  threshold  she  stayed 
her  steps  and  listened  once  more,  gazing  northwards 
whence  Hosea  must  come.  Nothing  was  to  be  heard 
but  the  tramp  of  a  watchman,  and  the  voice  of  Hur 
as  he  went  the  rounds  of  the  camp  with  a  company 
of  armed  men. 

He,  too,  had  found  it  impossible  to  rest  within. 

The  night  was  mild,  and  bright  with  stars ;  the 
hour  meet  for  silent  dreaming  under  the  sycamore. 
Her  seat  was  vacant  under  the  ancient  tree,  so  with 
a  bowed  head  she  made  her  way  to  the  favorite  spot 
which  on  the  morrow  she  must  quit  forever.  But 
she  had  not  reached  the  bench  when  she  suddenly 
stopped,  raised  her  head,  and  pressed  her  hands  to 
her  panting  bosom.  She  had  heard  the  tramp  of 
hoofs,  she  was  sure  of  it,  and  the  sound  came  from 
the  north.  "Were  the  chariots  of  Pharaoh  hurrying 
down  from  the  north  to  fall  upon  the  Hebrew  camp  ? 
Should  she  shout  to  wake  the  men  at  arms  ?  Or 
could  it  indeed  be  he  whom  she  so  passionately 
longed  for  ?  Yes,  yes !  It  was  the  step  of  a  single 
horse,  and  it  must  be  some  new  arrival,  for  there  was 


166  JOSHUA. 

a  stir  among  the  tents,  and  the  barking  of  dogs,  and 
shouts  and  eager  talking  came  nearer  and  nearer  as 
the  horseman  approached. 

It  was  Hosea,  she  f<Jlt  certain. 

That  he  should  have  ridden  forth  through  the 
night,  and  torn  asunder  the  ties  which  bound  him  to 
Pharaoh  and  his  brethren  in  arms,  was  a  proof  of 
his  obedience.  Love  had  steeled  his  will  and  lent 
speed  to  his  steed,  and  the  thanks  which  love  alone 
can  give,  the  reward  which  love  alone  can  bestow, 
should  no  longer  be  withheld  from  him.  He  should 
learn  In  her  arms  that,  though  he  had  given  up  much, 
it  was  to  earn  something  sweeter  and  fairer.  She 
felt  as  though  the  night  about  her  was  as  bright  as 
noonday  when  her  ear  'told  her  that  the  rider  was 
making  straight  for  Aminadab's  dwelling.  By  that 
she  knew  that  it  was  her  call  that  had  brought  him 
to  seek  her,  before  going  to  his  father,  who  had 
found  a  lodging  in  the  empty,  roomy  house  belong- 
ing to  his  grandson  Ephraim. 

Hosea  would  gladly  have  flown  to  her  side  as  fast 
as  his  horse  could  carry  him,  but  it  was  not  safe  to 
ride  at  too  brisk  a  pace  through  the  camp.  Oh,  and 
how  long  the  minutes  seemed  till  at  last  she  saw  the 
horseman,  till  he  leaped  from  the  saddle,  and  his 
companion  flung  the  reins  to  another  man  who  came 
behind. 

It  was  indeed  Hosea.  But  his  comrade — whom 
she  saw  quite  plainly,  and  started  at  the  sight — was 
Hur,  the  very  man  who,  a  few  hours  since,  had  asked 
her  to  be  his  wife. 


JOSHUA.  167 

There  they  stood,  side  by  side  in  the  starlight,  the 
two  men  her  suitors,  their  figures  lighted  up  by  the 
blazing  pine-torches  which  were  still  burning  by 
the  carts  and  litters  where  they  stood  ready  for 
the  next  morning's  march. 

The  elder  Hebrew,  a  splendid  man,  was  much 
taller  than  the  younger  and  no  less  strongly-built 
warrior,  and  the  lord  of  many  herds  held  his  head 
no  less  high  than  the  Egyptian  hero.  Both  spoke 
with  grave  decision ;  but  her  lover's  voice  was  the 
deeper  and  fuller.  Now  they  were  so  close  to  her 
that  she  could  hear  what  they  were  saying. 

Hur  was  telling  the  new-comer  that  Moses  had 
gone  forth  to  reconnoitre,  and  Hosea  expressed  his 
regret,  as  he  had  a  matter  of  importance  to  discuss 
with  him. 

In  that  case  he  would  have  to  set  forth  with  them 
at  daybreak,  Hur  observed,  for  Moses  thought  to 
meet  the  people  on  the  way.  Then  he  pointed  to 
the  house  of  Miriam's  protector,  Aminadab,  which 
lay  in  total  darkness  unbroken  by  a  single  twinkling 
light,  and  desired  Hosea  to  come  with  him  and  spend 
the  remainder  of  the  night  under  his  roof,  for  that 
no  doubt  he  would  fain  not  rouse  his  father  at  so 
late  an  hour.  At  this,  as  Miriam  saw,  her  friend 
hesitated,  and  looked  inquiringly  up  at  the  women's 
rooms  and  the  roof ;  and  then,  knowing  whom  he 
sought,  and  unable  any  longer  to  resist  the  impulse 
of  her  heart,  she  went  forward  from  under  the 
shadow  of  the  sycamore  and  warmly  bid  Hosea 
welcome.  He,  too,  scorned  to  conceal  the  joy  of 


1 68  JOSHUA. 

his  heart ;  and  Hur,  standing  by,  saw  the  reunited 
pair  clasp  hands,  at  first  in  silence  and  then  with 
eager  words  of  greeting. 

"  I  knew  that  you.  would  come ! "  cried  Miriam, 
and  Hosea  replied  with  glad  emotion  : 

"  That  you  might  easily  know,  O  Prophetess,  for 
one  of  the  voices  that  bid  me  hither  was  your  own." 
Then  he  added  more  calmly  :  "  I  hoped  to  find  your 
brother  here  with  you,  for  I  am  bearer  of  a  message 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  him,  to  us,  and 
to  the  people.  I  find  all  made  ready  for  departing, 
and  I  should  be  sorry  if  your  venerable  protectors 
were  roused  from  their  rest  and  hurried  forward  to 
a  perilous  adventure  which  it  still  seems  possible  to 
avert." 

"  You  mean  ?  " — asked  Hur,  and  he  came  closer. 

"  I  mean,"  replied  Joshua,  "  that  if  Moses  persists 
in  leading  the  multitude  forth  Eastward,  there  will 
be  much  useless  bloodshed  to-morrow  ;  for  I  heard 
at  Tanis  that  the  garrisons  of  Etham  have  orders  not 
to  let  a  single  man  pass,  much  less  this  countless 
multitude  whose  numbers  dismayed  me  as  I  rode 
through  the  Camp.  I  know  Apoo  who  commands 
the  forts,  and  the  legions  who  serve  under  him. 
There  will  be  a  fearful  and  fruitless  butchery  among 
our  unarmed  and  undisciplined  tribes — in  short  I 
must  speak  strongly  to  Moses  and  immediately,  to 
avert  the  worst,  before  it  is  too  late." 

"  We  have  not  failed  to  fear  all  that  you  can  warn 
us  of,"  replied  Hur,  "  and  it  is  expressly  to  avert  it 
that  Moses  has  set  forth  on  a  perilous  journey." 


JOSHUA.  169 

"  Whither  ?  "  asked  Joshua. 

"  That  is  the  secret  of  the  leaders  of  the  people." 

"  Among  them  my  father  ? " 

"  No  doubt ;  and  I  am  ready  to  lead  you  to  him. 
If  he  thinks  fit  to  inform  you — 

"  If  that  is  contrary  to  his  duty  he  will  be  silent. 
Who  leads  the  marching  host  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  I  do." 

"  You  ? "  cried  Hosea  in  surprise,  and  the  other 
quietly  replied : 

"  You  are  amazed  that  a  shepherd  should  be  so 
bold  as  to  lead  an  army  ;  but  the  Lord  God  of  hosts, 
in  whom  we  put  our  trust,  is  indeed  our  Captain, 
and  I  look  for  His  guidance." 

"  It  is  well,"  replied  Hosea.  "  But  I  too  believe 
that  the  God  of  our  fathers,  who  called  me  hither 
by  the  voice  of  Miriam,  has  entrusted  me  with  a 
message  of  great  importance.  I  must  find  Moses 
before  it  is  too  late." 

"  You  have  been  told  that  till  to-morrow,  or  even 
till  the  day  after,  he  is  beyond  our  reach,  even 
mine.  Will  you  meanwhile  speak  with  Aaron  ? " 

"  Is  he  in  the  Camp  ?  " 

"  No :  but  we  look  for  his  return  before  the 
departing  of  the  people ;  that  is  to  say,  in  a  few 
hours." 

"Has  he  the  right  of  deciding  questions  of  im- 
portance, in  the  absence  of  Moses  ? " 

"  No ;  he  only  declares  to  the  people  in  eloquent 
words  that  which  his  great  brother  commands." 

At  this  the  disappointed  warrior  gazed  thought- 


170  JOSHUA. 

fully  on  the  ground  ;  but  after  a  moment's  reflection 
he  eagerly  went  on  : 

"  It  is  to  Moses  that  the  Lord  our  God  declares 
his  will ;  but  to  you  too,  his  noble  virgin  sister, — to 
you  too  the  Most  High  reveals  himself." 

"  Oh  Hosea ! "  the  prophetess  broke  in,  lifting  her 
hands  to  him  with  an  imploring  and  deprecating 
gesture ;  but  the  Captain  paid  no  heed  to  her  inter- 
ruption, and  went  on  in  an  earnest  tone  : 

"  The  Lord  God  charged  you  to  call  me,  His 
servant,  back  to  His  people  ;  He  commanded  you  to 
give  me  the  name  I  am  to  bear  instead  of  that  given 
me  by  my  father  and  mother,  and  which  I  have 
borne  in  honor  for  thirty  years.  In  obedience  to 
your  bidding  I  have  cast  from  me  all  that  could 
make  me  great  among  men.  It  was  when  I  was  in 
the  way  to  face  death  in  Egypt,  with  my  God  and 
your  image  in  my  heart,  that  the  message  came  to 
me  which'  I  am  here  to  deliver,  and  I  therefore  be- 
lieve that  it  was  laid  upon  me  by  the  Most  High.  I 
am  constrained  to  deliver  it  to  the  leader  of  the 
nation ;  so,  as  I  cannot  find  Moses,  I  can  do  no 
better  than  to  deliver  it  to  you,  who,  next  to  your 
brother,  dwell  nearest  to  God.  I  pray  you  now  to 
hear  me ;  but  the  words  I  have  to  speak  are  not  ripe 
for  any  third  hearer." 

At  this  Hur  drew  himself  up;  breaking  in  on 
Hosea's  speech,  he  asked  Miriam  whether  it  was 
her  desire  to  hear  what  the  son  of  Nun  should  say 
without  witnesses,  and  she  replied  in  a  low  voice : 
"  Yes." 


JOSHUA.  i;i 

Hur  turned  to  the  warrior  and  said  with  cold 
pride  : 

"  I  believe  that  Miriam  knows  the  will  of  the 
Lord,  and  likewise  her  brother's,  and  that  she  is 
aware  of  what  beseems  a  woman  of  Israel.  If  I  am 
not  mistaken  it  was  under  this  very  tree  that  your 
own  father,  the  venerable  Nun,  repeated  to  my  son 
Uri  the  only  reply  which  Moses  will  give  to  the 
bearer  of  any  such  message  as  yours." 

"  Do  you  know  it  then  ? "  asked  the  soldier 
sternly. 

"  No,"  replied  the  other,  "  but  I  guess  its  purport. 
See  here,"  he  stooped  with  youthful  agility,  raised 
two  large  stones  so  that  they  supported  each  other, 
rolled  a  few  smaller  stones  into  a  heap  around  them, 
and  then  in  breathless  eagerness  spoke  as  follows  :— 

"This  heap  shall  be  a  witness  between  me  and 
thee,  like  the  heap  of  Mizpah  which  Laban  and 
Jacob  made  when  Laban  called  upon  the  Lord  to 
watch  between  him  and  Israel ;  so  do  I  now  ;  and  I 
show  thee  this  heap  that  thou  mayest  remember  it 
when  we  are  absent  one  from  another.  I  lay  my 
hand  on  this  heap  of  stones,  and  declare  that  I,  Hur, 
the  son  of  Caleb  and  Ephratah,  put  my  trust  in 
none  other  but  only  in  the  Lord,  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  and  am  ready  to  do  His  bidding  by  which 
He  calleth  us  out  of  the  land  of  Pharaoh,  to  the 
land  which  He  hath  promised  us.  And  thou, 
Hosea,  the  son  of  Nun,  do  I  ask,  and  the  Lord  our 
God  heareth  thee :  Dost  thou  look  for  any  help 
other  than  that  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  who  chose 


172  JOSHUA. 

thy  nation  to  be  His  own  people  ?  Moreover,  thou 
shalt  answer  and  say  whether  henceforth  thou  wilt 
hold  the  Egyptians  who  oppressed  us,  and  out  of 
whose  hand  the  Lord  our  God  hath  promised  to 
redeem  us,  as  the  foes  forever  of  thy  God  and  thy 
people  ? " 

There  was  a  dark  look  in  the  warrior's  bearded 
face,  and  he  was  inclined  to  throw  down  the  heap  of 
stones,  and  dismiss  the  overbold  questioner  with  a 
wrathful  reply ;  but  Miriam  had  laid  her  hand  on 
the  top  of  the  heap,  and  seizing  his  right  hand  she 
cried : 

"  He  inquires  of  thee  in  the  sight  of  our  God  and 
Lord,  who  is  our  witness  !  " 

Joshua  was  able  to  control  his  wrath,  and  press- 
ing the  maiden's  hand  as  he  held  it,  he  answered 
with  due  solemnity. 

"  He  asks  me,  but  I  cannot  answer  him,  for  '  Yea ' 
and  '  Nay '  say  little  in  this  case.  Yet  I  call  God  to 
witness  on  my  part ;  and  here,  by  this  heap  of  stones 
you,  Miriam,  shall  hear  what  I  have  in  my  mind, 
and  wherefore  I  am  come. 

"  And  thou,  Hur,  see  here  !  Like  thee  I  lay  my 
hand  on  the  heap  and  testify  that  I,  Joshua,  the  son 
of  Nun,  put  my  trust  in  none  other  but  only  in  the 
Lord  God  of  our  fathers.  He  shall  stand  between 
thee  and  me  as  a  witness,  and  decide  whether  my 
way  is  His  way  or  the  way  of  an  erring  man.  I 
will  walk  in  His  way  as  He  hath  declared  it  to  Moses 
and  to  this  noble  maiden.  That  I  swear  with  an 
oath,  and  to  that,  God  be  my  witness ! " 


JOSHUA.  173 

Hur  had  listened  eagerly,  and  now  persuaded  by 
the  gravity  of  Joshua's  speech,  he  cried  : 

"  The  Lord  our  God  hath  heard  thine  oath.  And  I 
too,  by  this  heap,  will  take  an  oath.  If  the  hour 
should  come  when,  remembering  this  heap,  thou 
shalt  give  the  testimony  which  thou  hast  refused  me, 
no  wrath  henceforth  shall  come  between  us  ;  and  if 
it  be  the  will  of  the  Lord  I  will  deliver  into  thy  hands 
the  leadership,  for  thou  in  many  wars  hast  learned 
more  skill  than  I,  who  have  ruled  only  over  herds- 
men and  flocks.  And  thou,  Miriam,  bear  in  mind 
that  this  heap  is  a  witness  of  the  words  you  twain 
shall  speak  here  in  the  sight  of  God.  Call  to  mind 
the  wrathful  words  we  heard  spoken  under  this  tree 
by  this  man's  father  ;  yea,  and  I  call  God  to  witness 
that  I  would  have  darkened  the  life  of  Uri  my  be- 
loved son,  who  is  the  joy  of  my  heart,  if  he  had 
spoken  to  the  people  to  persuade  them  by  the  mes- 
sage which  he  delivered  to  us ;  for  it  would  have 
turned  away  those  of  little  faith  from  their  God. 
Remember  this,  Maiden,  and  again  hear  this :  If 
thou  need  me  thou  canst  find  me.  The  door  I  op- 
ened, come  what  may,  will  never  be  shut." 

And  he  turned  away  from  Miriam  and  the  sol- 
dier. 

Something,  they  knew  not  what,  had  come  over 
them.  He,  who  all  through  his  long  ride,  beset 
with  many  dangers,  had  longed  with  burning  ardor 
for  the  moment  which  should  see  him  re-united  to 
the  maid  he  loved,  stood  looking  down  in  confusion 
and  deep  anxiety.  Miriam,  who  at  his  approach, 


1/4  JOSHUA. 

had  been  ready  to  bestow  on  him  all  that  a  woman 
has  of  best  and  sweetest  to  reward  truth  and  lovo 
withal,  had  sunk  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  awful 
heap  of  stones  close  to  the  sycamore  tree,  and  was 
pressing  her  head  against  its  old  hollow  trunk. 


JOSHUA.  175 


CHAPTER  XV. 

FOR  some  time  nothing  was  to  be  heard  under  the 
sycamore  but  the  young  girl's  low  sobbing  and  the 
impatient  step  of  the  warrior,  who,  while  struggling 
for  composure  himself,  did  not  venture  to  address 
her.  He  could  not  fully  understand  what  this  was 
that  had  suddenly  come  like  a  mountain  between 
him  and  the  woman  he  loved. 

He  had  learnt  from  Hur's  speech  that  Moses  and 
his  own  father  had  each,  severally,  rejected  all  media- 
tion ;  and  yet  to  him,  the  promises  he  was  em- 
powered to  make  seemed  a  grace  and  gift  from 
Heaven.  As  yet  none  of  his  nation  had  heard  them, 
and  if  Moses  were  the  man  he  believed  him,  the 
Lord  must  of  a  surety  open  his  eyes  and  show  him 
that  He  had  chosen  Hosea  to  guide  the  people  to 
a  happier  future ;  nor  did  he  doubt  that  he  could 
easily  win  over  his  father  Nun.  It  was  in  full  con- 
viction that  he  had  sworn  that  it  was  indeed  the  Most 
High  who  had  shown  him  this  way  ;  and  after 
thinking  all  this  over,  as  Miriam  at  length  rose,  he 
went  towards  her  with  renewed  hope.  The  love  in 
his  heart  prompted  him  to  clasp  her  in  his  arms ;  but 
she  drew  back,  and  her  voice,  usually  so  pure  and 
full,  sounded  harsh  and  husky  as  she  asked  him 


176  JOSHUA. 

wherefore  he  had  tarried  so  long,  and  what  it  was 
that  he  purposed  to  reveal  to  her. 

As  she  knelt  under  the  sycamore  she  had  not 
merely  been  praying  and  struggling  for  composure ; 
she  had  looked  into  her  soul.  She  loved  Hosea,  but 
her  heart  misgave  her  that  he  had  some  proposals 
to  make  such  as  Uri's,  and  old  Nun's  wrathful  words 
rang  in  her  ears  louder  than  ever.  Her  fear  lest  her 
lover  had  gone  astray  into  an  evil  way,  and  Hur's 
startling  proceedings  had  lulled  the  surges  of  her 
passion ;  and  her  spirit,  brought  back  to  calmer 
reflection,  now  craved  above  all  else  to  know  what 
could  so  long  have  detained  him  whom  she  had  sent 
for  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  wherefore  he  had 
come  alone,  without  Ephraim. 

The  clear  sky,  glorious  with  stars,  instead  of  look- 
ing down  on  the  bliss  of  a  pair  of  reunited  lovers, 
was  witness  only  to  the  anxious  questioning  of  a 
terrified  woman,  and  the  impatient  answers  of  a  hot- 
spirited  and  bitterly  disappointed  man. 

He  began  by  urging  his  love,  and  that  he  had 
come  to  make  her  his  wife;  but  she,  though  she 
suffered  him  to  hold  her  hand,  implored  him  to  post- 
pone his  wooing,  and  to  tell  her  first  all  she  wanted 
to  know. 

On  his  way  hither  he  had  heard  news  of  Ephraim 
from  a  fellow  soldier  from  Tanis  ;  he  was  therefore 
able  to  tell  her  that  he  had  gone  into  the  town  in 
disobedience  to  orders,  sick  and  weary  as  he  was, 
and  moved,  it  would  seem,  by  curiosity,  and  that  he 
had  found  care  and  shelter  under  a  friendly  roof. 


JOSHUA.  177 

This  however  did  not  comfort  Miriam,  who  blamed 
herself  as  she  thought  of  the  inexperienced  and 
fatherless  lad,  who  had  grown  up  under  her  own  eyes, 
and  whom  she  herself  had  sent  forth  among  strangers, 
as  a  guest  under  an  Egyptian's  roof. 

However,  Hosea  assured  her  that  he  would  take 
upon  himself  to  bring  the  boy  back  to  his  people ; 
and  when  she  still. was  not  satisfied  he  asked  her 
whether  he  had  indeed  lost  all  her  trust  and  love. 
But  she,  instead  of  giving  him  a  Avord  of  comfort, 
began  to  question  him  further,  desiring  to  know 
what  had  delayed  his  coming,  so  he  was  forced  to 
tell  his  tale,  though  greatly  disturbed  and  cut  to  the 
heart ;  beginning  in  fact  with  the  end  of  his  story. 

While  she  listened  to  him,  leaning  against  the 
trunk  of  the  sycamore,  he,  distraught  by  love  and 
impatience,  paced  up  and  down,  or  else,  hardly  able 
to  control  himself,  stood  close  to  her,  face  to  face. 
At  this  moment  nothing  seemed  to  him  worthy  to 
be  clothed  in  speech  but  the  passion  and  the  hopes 
which  filled  his  being.  Had  he  been  convinced  that 
her  heart  Avas  estranged  from  him,  he  Avould  have  fled 
from  the  camp  as  soon  as  he  had  unburthened  his 
soul  to  his  father,  and  have  ridden  aAvay  into  the 
unknoAvn  in  search  of  Moses.  All  he  cared  for  Avas 
to  Avin  Miriam,  and  to  keep  clear  of  dishonor  ;  and 
important  as  the  events  and  hopes  of  the  last  feAV 
days  had  been,  he  answered  her  questions  hastily, 
and  as  though  the  matters  involved  were  but  a  light 
thing.  He  began  his  tale  in  broken  sentences,  and 
the  oftener  she  interrupted  him  the  more  impatient 

12 


1 78  JOSHUA. 

he  became,  and  the  deeper  the  frown  which  knit 
his  brows. 

Hosea  had  been  riding  southward  for  some  few 
hours,  in  high  spirits  and  full  of  blossoming  hopes, 
when,  shortly  before  dusk,  he  perceived  a  large 
crowd  of  men  marching  on  in  front  of  him.  At 
first  he  had  taken  them  to  be  the  rear  guard  of  the 
fugitive  Hebrews,  and  he  had  hastened  his  horse's 
pace.  But  before  he  came  up  with  the  Avanderers, 
some  peasant  folk  and  drivers,  leaving  their  carts 
and  beasts  of  burthen  in  the  lurch,  had  flown  to 
meet  him  with  loud  shrieks  and  shouts  of  warning, 
telling  him  that  the  troop  in  front  were  the  multi- 
tude of  lepers.  And  their  warning  was  but  too  well 
justified,  for  the  first  who  met  him  with  the  heart- 
breaking cry  "  Unclean,  Unclean  "  bore  the  tokens 
of  those  who  were  a  prey  to  the  terrible  disease ; 
their  dull  eyes  staring  at  him  from  faces  devoid  of 
eyebrows  and  covered  with  the  white,  scurfy  dust 
peculiar  to  leprosy. 

Hosea  presently  recognized  one  and  another  of 
them;  among  them  here  and  there  an  Egyptian 
priest  with  shaven  head,  and  Hebrew  men  and 
women.  He  questioned  them  Avith  the  calm  severity 
of  a  warrior  chief,  and  learned  that  they  had  come 
from  the  quarries  opposite  Memphis,  their  place  of 
exile  on  the  Eastern  shore  of  the  Nile.  Certain 
Hebrews  among  them  had  heard  that  their  people 
had  fled  from  Egypt  to  seek  a  land  Avhich  the  Lord 
had  promised  them.  On  this  many  had  determined 
to  put  their  trust  in  the  mighty  God  of  their  fathers, 


JOSHUA.  179 

and  to  follow  the  wandering  tribes ;  and  the  Egyptian 
priests  even,  who  in  their  affliction  had  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  Hebrews,  had  set  forth  with  them, 
fixing  on  Succoth  as  the  goal  of  their  wanderings, 
whither,  as  they  heard,  Moses  was  first  to  lead  the 
people.  But  everyone  who  might  have  told  them 
the  road  had  fled  at  their  approach  ;  thus  they  had 
gone  too  far  to  the  northward,  even  almost  as  far 
as  the  fortress  of  Tabnae.  It  was  at  a  mile  from 
that  place  that  Hosea  had  overtaken  them,  and  had 
counselled  their  leaders  to  return  forthwith,  and  not 
to  bring  misfortune  on  the  host  of  their  brethren. 
During  their  parley  a  company  of  Egyptian  soldiers 
had  come  out  from  the  citadel  to  meet  the  lepers 
and  clear  the  road  of  their  presence ;  however  the 
captain,  who  knew  Hosea,  had  used  no  force,  and 
the  two  warriors  had  persuaded  the  leaders  of  the 
unclean  to  let  themselves  be  guided  to  the  peninsula 
of  Sinai,  where  there  was  already  a  colony  of  lepers 
among  the  mountains,  not  far  from  the  mines.  They 
had  yielded  to  this  proposal  because  Hosea  had 
promised  them  that  if  the  Israelites  wandered  East- 
ward they  would  visit  them  and  receive  all  who 
should  be  healed  ;  but  even  if  the  Hebrews  remained 
in  Egypt,  the  pure  air  of  the  desert  Avould  bring 
health  to  many  sufferers,  and  every  one  who  re- 
covered was  free  to  return  to  his  people. 

All  this  consumed  much  time;  and  then  other 
delays  had  occurred,  for,  as  Hosea  had  been  in  such 
near  neighborhood  to  the  lepers,  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  go  to  Tabnae,  where  he  and  the  Captain 


180  JOSHUA. 

of  the  troops,  who  had  been  with  him,  were  sprin- 
kled with  the  blood  of  birds,  clothed  in  clean  linen, 
and  obliged  to  go  through  certain  ceremonials  which 
he  himself  had  deemed  necessary,  and  which  could 
only  be  performed  in  broad  sunlight.  His  serving- 
man  had  not  been  suffered  to  leave  the  citadel ;  the 
soft-hearted  fellow,  seeing  a  kinsman  among  the 
hapless  wretches,  had  clasped  his  hand. 

The  cause  of  this  detention  was  saddening  and 
sickening  ;  and  it  was  not  till  he  had  quitted  Tabnae 
at  noonday  and  turned  his  face  towards  Succoth, 
that  the  hope  and  joy  of  seeing  Miriam  again,  and 
of  delivering  so  cheering  a  message,  had  revived  in 
Hosea's  breast. 

Never  had  his  heart  beat  higher  with  glad  an- 
ticipation than  as  .he  rode  on  through  the  night,  each 
step  bringing  him  nearer  to  his  father  and  his 
beloved ;  and  at  his  journey's  end,  instead  of  the 
highest  bliss,  nought  had  he  found  till  now  but  the 
most  cruel  disappointment. 

He  had  related  his  meeting  with  the  lepers 
briefly  and  reluctantly,  although  he  had  done,  as  he 
believed,  what  was  best  for  these  hapless  folk.  Any 
one  of  his  fellow  soldiers  would  have  had  a  word  of 
praise  for  him;  but  she,  whose  approbation  was 
dearer  to  him  than  all  else,  pointed,  as  he  ended, 
to  a  certain  spot  in  the  camp,  saying  mournfully  : 

"  They  are  of  our  blood ;  our  God  is  their  God. 
The  lepers  of  Zoan,  Phakos  and  Phibeseth  followed 
the  rest  at  a  reasonable  distance,  and  their  tents  are 
pitched  outside  the  camp.  Those  of  Succoth  like- 


JOSHUA.  I8l 

wise — they  are  not  many — are  to  journey  with  them ; 
and  when  the  Lord  promised  the  people  the  land  for 
which  they  longed,  it  was  to  great  and  small  and 
poor  alike  ;  and,  of  a  surety  to  those  poor  wretches 
who  are  now  left  in  the  hand  of  the  enemy.  Would 
you  not  have  done  better  to  divide  those  of  our  race 
from  the  Egyptians  and  bring  them  hither  ?  " 

At  this  the  soldier's  manly  pride  rebelled,  and  his 
reply  was  grave  and  stern  : 

"  In  war  a  man  learns  to  sacrifice  hundreds  that 
he  may  save  thousands.  Even  the  shepherd  re- 
moves the  rotten  sheep  to  save  the  flock." 

"  Yery  true,"  replied  the  girl  eagerly,  "  for  the 
shepherd  is  but  a  man,  who  knows  no  remedy 
against  the  evil.  But  the  Lord  who  hath  called  all 
His  people  will  not  suffer  them  to  come  to  harm 
through  obedience." 

"  So  women  think !  "  retorted  Hosea,  "  but  the 
counsels  of  compassion  which  move  them  must  not 
be  suffered  to  weigh  too  heavily  in  those  of  men. 
You  are  ready  to  follow  the  dictates  of  your  heart, 
as  indeed  is  most  fitting,  so  long  as  you  do  not 
forget  what  beseems  you  and  your  sex." 

Miriam's  cheeks  flushed  crimson,  for  she  felt  the 
stab  that  was  hidden  in  this  speech  with  a  double 
pang  since  it  was  dealt  by  Hosea.  How  much  had 
she  this  day  been  forced  to  renounce  for  her  sex's 
sake !  And  now  she  was  to  be  made  to  feel  that  she 
was  not  equal,  and  that  she  was  but  a  woman.  In 
the  presence  of  the  heap  of  stones  which  Hur  had 
built  up,  and  on  which  her  hand  at  this  moment 


1 82  JOSHUA. 

rested,  he  had  appealed  to  her  judgment  as  though 
she  were  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  people  ;  and  now 
he  roughly  set  her  in  her  place — her,  who  felt  her- 
self second  to  no  man  in  gifts  and  in  spirit. 

But  he  too  had  been  wounded  in  his  pride,  and 
her  demeanor  warned  him  that  this  hour  would 
decide  whether  in  their  future  union,  he  or  she 
should  get  the  mastery.  He  stood  up  in  front  of 
her  in  all  his  pride  and  high  determination — never 
indeed  had  she  thought  him  so  manly  or  so  desirable. 
Yet  the  instinct  to  fight  for  her  injured  womanly 
dignity  was  stronger  than  any  other  impulse,  and 
finally  it  was  she  who  broke  the  painful  silence 
which  had  followed  his  words  of  reproof.  With 
a  degree  of  composure  which  she  only  achieved 
by  the  exertion  of  her  utmost  power  of  will,  she 
began  : 

"  But  we  are  both  forgetting  what  keeps  us  here 
at  this  hour  of  the  night. — You  were  to  reveal  to 
me  what  brought  you  hither,  and  to  hear  from  my 
lips  the  judgment  of  the  Lord — not  that  of  Miriam 
— the  foolish  woman  !  " 

"  I  had  hoped  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  maiden  in 
whose  love  I  trusted,"  he  gloomily  replied. 

"  You  shall  hear  it,"  she  said,  taking  her  hand 
from  off  the  heap  of  stones.  "  But  it  may  befall 
that  I  cannot  consent  to  the  judgment  of  the 
man  whose  power  and  wisdom  are  so  far  greater 
than  mine;  and  you  have  taught  me  that  you 
cannot  brook  a  woman's  contradiction — not  even 
mine." 


JOSHUA.  183 

"  Miriam  !  "  he  exclaimed  reproachfully,  but  she 
went  on  more  vehemently : 

"  I  have  felt  it  deeply,  and  as  it  would  be  the 
greatest  sorrow  of  my  life  to  lose  your  heart,  you 
must  understand  me  fully  before  you  call  upon  me 
to  pronounce  judgment." 

"  But  first  hear  my  message." 

"  No,  No ! "  she  eagerly  replied.  "  The  answer 
now  would  die  on  my  lips.  First  let  me  tell  you  of 
the  woman  who,  though  she  has  a  loving  heart, 
knows  something  which  she  holds  far  above  love. 
You  smile  ?  And  you  have  a  right  to  smile  till  you 
know  that  which  I  will  reveal  to  you." 

"  Speak  then,"  he  broke  in,  in  a  tone  which  be- 
trayed how  hard  he  felt  it  to  keep  patience. 

"  Thanks  for  that !  "  she  said  warmly.  Then, 
leaning  against  the  tree  trunk,  while  he  sat  down 
on  the  bench  and  looked  now  into  her  face  and  now 
on  the  ground,  she  spoke : 

"  I  have  left  childhood  behind  me,  aye,  and  my 
youth  will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  While  I  was 
still  but  a  little  child  I  was  not  very  different  from 
other  girls,  I  played  with  them,  and  although  my 
mother  had  taught  me  to  pray  to  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  still  I  was  well  content  to  hear  what  other 
children  would  tell  me  of  Isis.  As  often  as  I  could 
I  would  steal  into  her  temple,  buy  spices,  and  strip 
my  little  garden  for  her  ;  would  pour  oil  on  her  altar 
and  offer  her  flowers. — I  was  taller  and  stronger 
than  many  maidens  of  my  age,  and  the  daughter  of 
Amram  to  boot,  so  that  the  others  were  ready  enough 


1 84  JOSHUA. 

to  obey  me  and  do  all  I  proposed.  "When  1  was 
eight  years  old  we  moved  hither  from  Zoan.  Before 
I  had  found  a  playfellow  here  you  came  to  stay  in 
the  house  of  Gamaliel,  your  sister's  husband,  to  be 
healed  of  a  wound  from  a  Libyan's  lance.  Do  you 
remember  that  time,  when  you,  a  young  man,  made 
a  comrade  of  the  little  girl  ?  I  fetched  you  all  you 
needed,  I  chattered  to  you  of  all  I  knew,  and  you 
told  me  tales  of  bloody  fights  and  victory,  and 
described  the  splendid  armor  and  the  horses  and 
chariots  of  the  soldiers.  You  showed  me  the  ring 
you  had  won  by  your  valor,  and  when  the  Avound 
in  your  breast  was  healed,  we  wandered  about  the 
meadows  together. 

"  Isis,  whom  you  worshipped,  had  her  temple  here 
also,  and  how  often  would  I  steal  secretly  into  its 
courts,  to  pray  for  you  and  carry  her  my  holiday 
cakes.  I  had  heard  so  much  from  you  of  Pharaoh 
and  his  magnificence,  of  the  Egyptians  and  their 
wisdom,  skill  and  luxurious  lives,  that  my  little  heart 
longed  to  dwell  among  them  in  the  capital ;  it  had 
moreover  come  to  my  ears  that  my  brother  Moses 
had  been  treated  with  great  kindness  in  the  King's 
Palace,  and  had  become  a  man  held  in  high  honor 
among  the  priesthood.  I  could  no  longer  be  content 
with  my  own  folk  who  seemed  to  me  in  all  respects 
far  behind  the  Egyptians. 

"  Then  came  the  parting  from  you ;  and  as  my 
little  heart  was  piously  inclined  and  looked  for  all 
good  to  come  from  Divine  power,  by  whatever  name 
it  was  called,  I  prayed  for  Pharaoh  and  for  his  army 
with  which  you  were  fighting. 


JOSHUA.  185 

"  My  mother  would  sometimes  speak  of  the  God  of 
our  fathers  as  of  a  mighty  Defence  who  had  done 
great  things  of  old  for  his  people,  and  she  told  me 
many  fine  tales  of  Him  ;  still,  she  herself  often  sacri- 
ficed in  the  temple  of  Set,  or  carried  clover  flowers 
to  the  sacred  bull  of  the  Sun-god.  She  had  kind 
thoughts  too  of  the  Egyptians,  among  whom  our 
Moses,  her  pride  and  joy,  had  risen  to  such  high 
honor. 

Thus  I  came  to  be  fifteen  years  old  and  lived 
happy  with  the  rest.  In  the  evening,  when  the  herds- 
men had  come  home  I  sat  round  the  fire  with  the 
young  ones,  and  it  pleased  me  when  the  sons  of  the 
great  owners  preferred  me  above  the  others  and 
paid  court  to  me ;  but  I  rejected  them  all,  even  the 
Egyptian  Captain  who  commanded  the  Guard  in 
charge  of  the  storehouse  ;  for  I  always  thought  of 
you,  the  companion  of  my  childhood.  The  best  I 
had  to  give  would  not  have  seemed  too  much  for  a 
magic  spell  which  might  have  brought  you  to  my 
side,  when  at  high  festivals  I  danced  and  sang  to  the 
tambourine  and  the  loudest  praise  was  always  for 
me.  Whenever  I  sang  before  others  I  thought  of  you  ; 
and  as  I  did  so  I  poured  out  all  that  filled  my  heart 
as  a  lark  might,  so  that  my  song  was  to  you,  and 
not  to  the  praise  of  the  Most  High  to  whom  it  was 
dedicated." 

At  this  a  fresh  glow  of  passion  possessed  the  man 
to  whom  his  beloved  confessed  such  gladdening  truth. 
He  sprang  up  and  held  out  his  arms  to  her  ;  but  she 
forbade  him  with  stern  severity,  that  she  herself 


1 86  JOSHUA. 

might  remain  mistress  of  the  longing  which  threat- 
ened to  be  too  much  for  her. 

Her  deep  voice  had  a  different  ring  in  it  as  she 
went  on,  at  first  quickly  and  softly,  but  presently 
louder  and  more  impressively : 

"  And  so  I  came  to  be  eighteen,  and  I  could  endure 
Succoth  no  longer.  An  unutterable  yearning,  not 
for  you  only,  came  over  my  soul.  Things  that  had 
formerly  brought  me  joy  now  seemed  empty,  and 
the  monotony  of  my  life  here,  in  this  remote  frontier 
town  among  flocks  and  herdsmen,  seemed  to  me 
dreary  and  wretched. 

"  Eleazar,  Aaron's  son,  had  taught  me  to  read,  and 
brought  me  books  full  of  tales  which  could  never 
have  been  true,  but  which  nevertheless  stirred  my 
heart.  Many  of  them  contained  praises  of  the  gods, 
and  ardent  songs  such  as  lovers  sing  one  to  another. 
These  took  deep  hold  on  me ;  and  when  I  was  alone 
in  the  evening  or  at  midday,  when  all  was  still,  and 
the  shepherds  and  herdsmen  were  away  at  pasture, 
I  would  rehearse  these  songs,  or  invent  new,  mostly 
hymns  in  praise  of  the  Divinity  ;  in  honor  sometimes 
of  Amon,  with  his  ram's  head,  or  of  Isis,  with  the 
head  of  a  cow ;  but  often  too  of  the  Almighty  Lord 
who  revealed  Himself  to  Abraham,  and  of  whom  my 
mother  spoke  more  often  as  she  grew  older.  And 
this  was  what  I  loved  best — to  think  in  silence  of 
such  songs  of  praise,  and  wait  for  visions  in  which 
I  saw  God's  greatness  and  glory,  or  fair  angels  and 
hideous  demons.  From  a  merry  child  I  had  be- 
come a  pensive  maiden  who  let  her  life  go  as  it  might. 


JOSHUA.  187 

There  was  no  one  to  warn  or  to  hinder  me;  my 
parents  were  now  dead  and  I  lived  alone  with  my 
Aunt  Rachel,  a  misery  to  myself  and  no  joy  to  any 
one  else.  Aaron,  my  eldest  brother,  had  gone  to 
dwell  with  his  father-in-law,  Aminadab ;  for  the  old 
home  of  Amram  his  inheritance  was  too  small  for  him 
and  he  had  bestowed  it  on  me.  My  companions 
even  avoided  me,  for  all  gladness  had  departed  from 
me,  and  I  looked  down  upon  them  in  sinful  scorn 
because  I  could  compose  songs  and  see  more  in  my 
visions  then  ever  they  saw. 

"  Now  I  was  nineteen,  and  on  the  eve  of  my  birth- 
day, which  no  one  remembered  save  Milcah,  Eleazar's 
daughter,  the  Lord  for  the  first  time  gave  me  a  mes- 
sage. He  appeared  in  the  form  of  an  angel  and  bid 
me  set  the  house  in  order,  for  a  guest  was  on  the  way 
whom  I  loved  greatly. 

"  It  was  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  I  sat  under 
this  tree ;  so  I  went  into  the  house,  and  with  old 
Rachel's  help  I  set  the  house  in  order,  and  made 
ready  a  bed,  and  prepared  a  meal  with  wine,  and  all 
that  we  welcome  a  guest  withal.  But  noon  came, 
and  the  afternoon,  and  the  evening  became  night, 
and  the  night  morning  again,  and  still  I  waited  for 
the  guest.  However,  as  the  sun  was  again  getting 
low  that  day,  the  dogs  began  to  bark  loudly,  and 
when  I  went  forth  to  the  gate  a  tall  man  came  hurry- 
ing towards  me.  His  hair  was  gray  and  in  disorder, 
and  he  wore  a  priest's  white  robe  all  in  tatters.  The 
dogs  shrank  from  him  whining  ;  but  I  knew  him  for 
my  brother  Moses. 


1 88  JOSHUA. 

"  Our  meeting  again  after  such  a  long  time  brought 
me  more  fear  than  pleasure,  for  Moses  was  fleeing 
from  his  pursuers  because  he  had  slain  the  overseer. 
But  this  you  know. 

"  Wrath  still  flashed  from  his  sparkling  eyes.  He 
appeared  to  me  to  resemble  the  god  Set,  and  each 
of  his  slow  words  was  engraved  on  my  mind  as 
with  a  hammer  and  chisel.  He  remained  three  times 
seven  days  and  nights  under  my  roof,  and  since  I 
was  alone  with  him  and  deaf  Rachel — for  he  had 
to  remain  hidden — no  one  came  between  us,  and  he 
taught  me  to  know  Him  who  is  the  God  of  our 
fathers.  I  listened  to  his  burning  words  with  fear 
and  trembling,  and  his  weighty  speech  fell,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  like  rocks  upon  my  breast,  when  he 
impressed  on  me  what  the  Lord  God  expected  of  me, 
or  when  he  described  the  wrath  and  the  greatness 
of  Him  whom  no  mind  can  comprehend,  and  whose 
Name  none  may  utter.  Yes,  when  he  spoke  of  Him 
and  of  the  Egyptian  gods,  it  appeared  as  though 
the  God  of  Israel  stood  forth  like  a  giant  whose 
brow  touched  the  heavens,  while  the  other  gods  all 
crouched  at  his  feet  in  the  dust  like  whimpering 
hounds. 

"  He  also  taught  me  that  we  alone,  and  no  others, 
were  the  Lord's  chosen  people.  Now,  for  the  first 
time,  I  was  filled  with  pride  that  I  was  a  scion  of 
Abraham,  and  that  every  Hebrew  was  my  brother 
and  every  daughter  of  Israel  my  sister.  Now,  too, 
I  understood  how  cruelly  those  of  my  own  kindred 
had  been  tortured  and  oppressed.  I  had  hitherto 


JOSHUA.  189 

been  blind  to  the  anguish  of  my  people,  but  Moses 
opened  my  eyes,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  hatred  in 
my  heart,  a  great  hatred  of  the  tyrants  of  my  breth- 
ren ;  and  from  that  hatred  grew  love  for  the  bonds- 
men. I  vowed  that  I  would  cling  to  my  brother  and 
wait  on  the  voice  of  the  Lord, — and  behold  he  did 
not  tarry ;  the  voice  of  Jehovah  spoke  to  me  as  with 
tongues. 

"  About  that  time  old  Eachel  died,  and  by  Moses' 
desire  I  did  not  live  alone,  but  followed  the  bidding 
of  Aaron  and  Aminadab  and  became  a  guest  under 
their  roof.  Still,  even  then,  I  lived  a  life  apart. 
Nor  did  they  hinder  me ;  and  this  sycamore  in  their 
field  became,  as  it  were,  my  own  place. 

"  It  was  under  its  shade  that  God  bid  me  call  thee 
and  name  thee  Holpen  of  Jehovah — and  thou,  Joshua, 
and  no  longer  Ilosea,  hast  done  the  bidding  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  and  of  his  prophetess !  " 

At  this  point  the  soldier  interrupted  the  damsel's 
tale,  to  which  he  had  listened  earnestly,  though  with 
growing  disappointment : 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "I  obeyed  you  and  the  Lord 
God ! — what  it  cost  me  to  do  so  you  care  not  to 
inquire.  You  have  told  all  your  story  down  to  the 
present  hour,  but  you  have  nothing  to  say  of  the 
days  you  spent  with  us  as  our  guest  at  Tanis  after 
my  mother's  death.  Can  you  forget  what  your  eyes 
first  told  me  there,  and  then  your  lips  ?  Has  the 
day  of  our  parting  vanished  from  your  memory,  and 
the  evening  on  the  sea  when  you  bid  me  set  my 
hopes  on  you  and  remember  you  ?  Did  the  hatred 


IQO  JOSHUA. 

which  Moses  implanted  in  your  heart  exclude  all 
else — even  love  ? " 

"  Even  love  ? "  cried  Miriam  raising  her  tearful 
eyes  to  his  face.  "  Oh  no  !  How  could  I  ever  forget 
that  time,  the  happiest  of  my  life  ?  But  from  the 
day  when  Moses  came  from  the  desert  to  redeem 
the  people  from  bondage  by  the  command  of  the 
Lord  — it  was  three  months  after  your  departure — 
from  that  day  I  have  lost  all  count  of  years  and 
months,  days  and  nights." 

"  And  you  will  forget  this  night  ? "  asked  Joshua 
bitterly. 

"  Nay,  not  so,"  said  Miriam,  looking  beseechingly 
in  his  face.  "  The  love  which  grew  up  in  the  child's 
heart,  and  did  not  fade  in  the  girl's,  can  never  die — 
Here  she  suddenly  broke  off,  raised  her  hands  and 
eyes  to  Heaven  as  if  wrapt  in  ecstasy  and  cried 
aloud :  "  Thou  art  nigh  to  me,  Great  God  Almighty, 
and  canst  read  my  heart !  Thou  knowest  Avherefore 
Miriam  counts  no  more  by  days  and  years,  and 
asks  only  to  be  Thy  handmaid  until  thou  hast  granted 
to  her  people,  who  is  this  man's  people,  that  which 
Thou  hast  promised  1 " 

While  the  maiden  was  uttering  this  prayer,  which 
came  from  the  very  bottom  of  her  heart,  alight 
breeze  had  sprung  up,  the  herald  of  dawn,  and  the 
thick,  leafy  crown  of  the  sycamore  tree  whispered 
above  her  head.  Hosea  devoured  her  tall  majestic 
figure  with  his  eyes  as  she  stood  half  lighted  and 
half  shrouded  in  the  doubtful  gleam  of  dawn,  for  the 
things  he  saw  and  heard  seemed  to  him  as  a  miracle. 


JOSHUA.  IQI 

The  tidings  of  great  joy  to  which  she  looked  forward 
for  her  people,  and  which  must  be  accomplished 
before  she  would  allow  herself  to  follow  the  desires 
of  her  heart,  he  believed  himself  to  be  the  bearer  of 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Carried  away  by  the  high 
flight  of  her  spirit,  he  hastened  to  her  side,  seized 
her  hand,  and  cried  with  hopeful  excitement : 

"  The  hour  has  come  when  you  may  once  more 
tell  day  from  night,  and  hearken  to  the  wishes  of 
your  heart.  For  I  Joshua,  no  more  Hosea,  came  at 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  the  message  I  bear  brings 
new  happiness  to  the  people  whom  I  will  learn  to 
love  as  you  love  them,  and,  if  it  be  the  will  of  the 
Most  High,  the  promise  of  a  new  and  better  land." 

Miriam's  eyes  flashed  with  'gladness ;  carried 
away  by  thankful  joy  she  cried  : 

"  Are  you  then  come  to  lead  us  to  the  land  Jeho- 
vah hath  promised  us  ?  O  Lord,  how  great  are  thy 
mercies.  He,  he  comes  as  Thy  messenger  !  " 

"  Yea,  he  comes,  he  is  here !  "  cried  Joshua  raptur- 
ously ;  and  she  did  not  prevent  him  as  he  clasped 
her  to  his  breast ;  with  a  thrill  of  joy  she  returned 
his  ardent  kiss. 


192  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FRIGHTENED  at  her  own  weakness,  Miriam 
ently  freed  herself  from  her  lover's  arms,  but  she 
was  ready  to  listen  with  eager  gladness  to  his  tale 
of  a  fresh  mercy  vouchsafed  by  the  Most  High,  and 
his  brief  account  of  all  he  had  done  and  felt  since 
he  had  received  her  call. 

First  he  described  how  terribly  he  had  been 
divided  in  his  mind  ;  how,  then,  he  had  found  entire 
faith,  and  in  obedience  to  the  God  of  his  nation 
and  to  his  father's  appeal,  had  gone  to  the  palace, 
facing  the  risk  of  imprisonment  or  death,  to  be 
released  of  his  oath.  Next  he  told  her  how  gra- 
ciously the  mourning  sovereigns  had  received  him ; 
and  how,  finally,  he  had  taken  upon  himself  the 
office  of  appealing  to  the  chief  of  his  people,  and 
persuading  him  to  lead  the  Hebrews  only  a  short 
way  into  the  desert,  and  then  bring  them  home 
again  to  Egypt,  where  a  new  and  splendid  province 
should  be  granted  them  on  the  West  of  the  Nile. 
Henceforth  no  Egyptian  overseer  should  oppress 
them  ;  their  own  elders  should  be  permitted  to  rule 
them,  and  a  man  of  their  own  choosing  should  gov- 
ern them. 

To  conclude,  he  observed  that  he  himself  was 


JOSHUA.  193 

minded  to  become  the  captain  of  the  Hebrew  fight- 
ing-men, and  also  to  mediate  and  smooth  matters 
between  them  and  the  Egyptians  whenever  it  might 
seem  needful.  Happily  united  to  her  in  that  new 
home,  he  would  extend  his  care  to  the  humblest  of 
his  brethren.  On  his  way  hither  he  had  felt  as 
though,  after  a  furious  fight,  the  blasts  of  the  trum- 
pets proclaimed  victory.  And,  indeed,  he  had  a 
right  to  believe  himself  a  messenger  and  ambassador 
from  the  Lord.  Here,  however,  he  interrupted  him- 
self ;  for  Miriam,  who  at  first  had  listened  to  him 
with  anxious  ears  and  flashing  eyes,  had  heard  him, 
as  he  proceeded,  with  a  more  and  more  anxious  and 
troubled  mien.  And  when  he  spoke  of  his  hope 
that  they  might  together  do  much  for  their  people, 
she  drew  away  her  hand,  gazed  with  terror  into  his 
handsome  face  glowing  with  glad  excitement,  and 
then  cast  down  her  eyes  as  if  striving  for  self-control. 

Unsuspicious  of  what  had  moved  her  thus,  he 
went  closer  to  her.  He  deemed  it  was  maidenly 
shyness  that  held  her  silent,  at  having  yielded  a  first 
favor  to  the  man  she  loved.  But  when  she  shook 
her  head  disapprovingly  at  his  last  words,  announc- 
ing his  commission  as  God's  messenger,  he  was 
almost  beside  himself  with  cruel  disappointment, 
and  exclaimed  vehemently : 

"Then  do  you  believe  that  the  Lord  hath  de- 
fended me,  as  by  a  miracle,  against  the  wrath  of  the 
mighty,  and  given  me  grace  to  win  for  His  people, 
from  the  hand  of  the  great  King,  such  boons  as 
never  before  did  the  strong  vouchsafe  to  the  weak, 


194  JOSHUA. 

only  to  trifle  with  the  happy  trustfulness  of  a  man 
whom  He  Himself  called  to  serve  Him  ?  " 

At  this  she  interrupted  him  in  a  woeful  voice, 
with  difficulty  restraining  her  tears  : — 

"  The  strong  to  the  weak !  If  this  is  your  thought 
you  force  me  to  ask  you  in  your  own  father's  Avords, 
'  Who  then  is  the  mightier,  the  Lord  our  God,  or 
that  poor  creature  on  the  throne,  whose  first-born 
has  perished  at  a  sign  from  the  Most  High  as  grass 
is  cut  down  and  withered  ?  Oh,  Hosea,  Hosea ! " 

"  Nay,  Joshua  ; "  he  wildly  exclaimed.  "  Do  you 
refuse  me  the  name  which  your  God  bestowed  on 
me  ?  I  trusted  in  His  aid  when  I  entered  the  palace 
of  the  great  king ;  I  sought  redemption  and  release 
for  the  nation  under  God's  guidance,  and  I  found 
them, — and  you — you — 

"  Moses  and  your  father, — aye,  and  all  the  faith- 
ful leaders  of  Israel,  seek  no  redemption  at  the  hand 
of  the  Egyptians,"  she  replied  with  fluttering  breath. 
"  All  that  they  can  bestow  must  bring  destruction 
on  Israel ;  the  grass  that  we  have  sown  withers 
where  the  Egyptian  treads  !  And  you  whose  honest 
soul  they  have  but  mocked  at,  you  are  the  lure  sent 
forth  by  the  bird-catcher  to  entice  the  birds  into  the 
net.  You  are,  as  it  were,  the  hammer  in  their  hand, 
to  rivet  the  fetters  withal,  more  firmly  than  ever, 
which  we,  by  God's  help,  have  broken.  With  the 
eyes  of  the  spirit  I  see — 

"  Enough !  Too  much  ! "  replied  the  warrior, 
grinding  his  teeth  with  rage.  "  Hatred  has  clouded 
your  clear  soul.  And  if  the  bird-catcher — as  you 


JOSHUA,  195 

would  have  it — is  of  a  truth  using  me  as  his  lure? 
and  mocked  at  me  and  led  me  astray,  it  Avas  from 
you — yes,  you> — that  he  might  have  learnt  it.  En- 
couraged by  you,  I  built  on  your  love  and  faithful- 
ness ;  of  you  I  hoped  everything  ! — And  that  love  I 
where  is  it?  You  have  spared  me  nothing  that 
could  Avound  me,  and  I,  likewise,  will  not  spare  my- 
self but  confess  the  whole  truth.  It  was  not  alone 
because  the  God  of  my  fathers  bid  me  that  I  obeyed, 
but  because  it  was  through  you  and  my  father  that 
the  call  came  to  me.  You  aspire  after  a  land  in 
the  far  unknown,  promised  by  the  Lord  ;  I  open  to 
my  people  the  way  to  a  certain  and  happy  home. 
Nor  was  it  for  their  sake — for  what  have  my  people 
ever  done  for  me  ?  But  above  all  that  I  might  dwell 
there  with  you  whom  I  love,  and  with  my  old  father. 
And  you,  whose  cold  heart  knows  not  love,  with  my 
kiss  on  your  lips  you  reject  the  boon  I  offer,  out  of 
hatred  for  the  hand  that  bestows  it  on  me.  All 
your  thoughts  and  deeds  have  become  as  those  of  a 
man,  and  all  that  other  women  prize  most  highly 
you  spurn  from  you  with  your  foot  ? " 

At  this  Miriam  could  bear  no  more ;  she  clasped 
her  hands  over  her  quivering  face,  sobbing  bitterly. 

By  this  time  the  sleeping  tribes  were  awakening 
in  the  growing  dawn  ;  serving  men  and  women  came 
forth  from  the  houses  of  Aminadab  and  Nahshon. 
All,  as  they  woke  to  a  new  day,  made  their  way  to 
the  well  or  to  the  drinking-troughs,  but  she  heeded 
them  not. 

How  her  heart  had  leaped  and  rejoiced  when  her 


196  JOSHUA. 

lover  had  declared  to  her  that  he  had  come  to  lead 
them  to  the  land  which  the  Lord  had  promised  to  his 
people.  She  had  rested  so  gladly  on  his  bosom  to 
know  for  a  moment  that  highest  bliss,  but  how  soon 
had  it  been  turned  to  cruel  disappointment.  While 
the  morning  breeze  had  rustled  through  the  thick 
foliage  of  the  sycamore,  and  while  Joshua  was  tell- 
ing her  of  Pharaoh's  promises  to  the  people,  it  had 
seemed  to  her  that  the  voice  of  God  in  His  wrath 
was  murmuring  in  the  tree-tops,  or  that  she  heard 
once  more  the  angry  speech  of  old  Nun.  He  had 
stormed  at  Uri  like  thunder  and  lightning, — and 
wherein  did  Joshua's  proposals  differ  from  Uri's  ? 

The  people,  as  she  had  heard  from  Moses  himself, 
were  lost  if  they  failed  in  truth  to  their  God  and 
yielded  to  Pharaoh's  enticements.  To  ally  herself 
with  a  man  who  had  come  to  undo  all  for  which  her 
brothers  and  his  own  father  had  lived  and  struggled, 
would  be  base  treason.  And  yet  she  loved  Joshua  ; 
and,  instead  of  repulsing  him  harshly,  how  willingly 
ah,  how  gladly,  would  she  again  have  lain  on  the 
heart,  which,  as  she  knew,  longed  for  her  so  ardently  ! 

But  the  murmur  in  the  boughs  still  went  on  ;  she 
could  fancy  it  was  echoing  Aaron's  words  of  warn- 
ing, and  she  vowed  to  remain  true,  strong  as  the  im- 
pulse was  that  drew  her  to  her  lover.  The  whisper- 
ing in  the  tree  was  of  a  surety  the  Voice  of  God, 
who  had  chosen  her  to  be  His  handmaid.  "When 
Joshua  had  declared  in  his  passionate  excitement 
that  the  desire  to  possess  her  was  what  had  prompted 
him  to  action  on  behalf  of  the  people,  who  to  him 


JOSHUA.  197 

were  as  indifferent  as  to  her  they  were  dear,  she  had 
suddenly  felt  her  heart  stand  still,  and  she  could  not 
forbear  sobbing  in  her  mental  anguish. 

Heedless  of  Joshua  or  the  awakening  multitude, 
she  flung  herself  again  at  the  foot  of  the  sycamore 
with  arms  upraised  to  Heaven,  staring  wide-eyed  at 
the  boughs,  as  though  expecting  some  fresh  revela- 
tion. The  morning  air  sighed  among  the  leaves,  and 
suddenly  it  seemed  as  though  a  bright  radiance 
shone,  not  only  in  her  soul,  but  all  about  her,  as 
always  happened  when  a  vision  was  granted  to  her 
prophetic  eye.  And  in  the  midst  of  the  light,  behold 
a  figure,  whose  aspect  terrified  her  while  his  name 
was  whispered  by  every  trembling  leaf ;  and  the 
name  was  not  Joshua,  but  that  of  another  whom  her 
heart  could  not  desire.  He  stood  in  the  blaze  of 
glory  before  her  mind's  eye,  a  tall,  noble  form,  and 
with  a  solemn  gesture  laid  his  hand  on  the  heap  of 
stones  he  had  made. 

Breathless  with  suspense  she  gazed  at  the  vision ; 
and  yet  she  gladly  would  have  closed  her  eyes  to 
avoid  seeing  it,  and  have  shut  her  ears  to  the  voice 
of  the  murmuring  sycamore.  Suddenly  the  glory 
was  extinct,  the  figure  had  vanished,  the  voice  of  the 
leaves  was  hushed,  she  saw  before  her,  in  a  ruddier 
glow,  the  figure  of  the  only  man  whose  lips  her  own 
had  ever  kissed,  sword  in  hand,  rushing  on  an  invis- 
ible foe  at  the  head  of  his  father's  herdsmen.  The 
vision  came  and  was  gone  as  swiftly  as  a  flash  of 
lightning ;  and  yet,  even  before  it  had  vanished,  she 
knew  all  it  meant  to  her.  This  man,  whom  she  had 


198  JOSHUA. 

named  Joshua,  and  who  had  every  quality  that  could 
fit  him  to  be  the  guardian  and  leader  of  his  people, 
should  not  be  led  astray  by  love  from  the  high  task 
to  which  the  Lord  had  called  him.  None  among 
the  Hebrews  should  hear  the  message  he  had 
brought  and  thereby  be  turned  away  from  the  peril- 
ous path  on  which  they  had  entered.  Her  duty 
was  now  as  clear  in  her  sight  as  the  vanished  vision 
had  been.  And  as  though  the  Most  High  would 
fain  show  her  that  she  had  understood  rightly  what 
the  vision  demanded  of  her,  before  she  had  risen 
from  her  knees  to  announce  to  Joshua  the  sorrow  to 
which  she  had  condemned  him  and  herself,  she  heard 
Hur's  voice  close  at  hand,  bidding  the  crowd,  which 
was  gathering  from  all  sides,  to  form  in  order  for 
their  march. 

The  way  of  salvation  from  herself  lay  before  her. 

Joshua,  meanwhile,  had  not  ventured  to  intrude 
on  her  devotions.  He  was  wounded  and  angered  to 
the  depths  of  his  soul  by  her  rejection.  But  gazing 
down  on  her  he  had  seen  her  tall  frame  shiver  as 
with  a  sudden  chill,  her  eyes  and  hands  uplifted  as 
if  spell-bound ;  and  he  had  understood  that  some- 
thing great  and  sacred  was  stirring  in  her  soul  which 
it  would  be  a  crime  to  disturb ;  nay,  he  had  been  un- 
able to  resist  an  instinctive  feeling  that  he  was  a 
bold  man  who  could  desire  a  woman  so  closely  one 
with  God.  It  would  be  bliss  indeed  to  be  lord  of 
this  sublime  creature,  but  at  the  same  time  hard  to 
see  her  prefer  another,  though  it  were  the  Almighty, 
so  far  above  her  lover. 


JOSHUA.  199 

Men  and  beasts  were  already  trooping  in  crowds 
past  the  sycamore,  and  when  at  length  Joshua  de- 
cided that  he  must  speak  to  Miriam  and  remind  her 
of  the  gathering  throng,  she  rose,  and  turning  to 
him,  spoke  these  vehement  words : 

"  I  have  spoken  with  the  Lord,  Joshua,  and  I  now 
know  His  will.  Dost  thou  remember  the  words  with 
which  God  called  thee  ?  " 

He  bowed  his  head  and  she  went  on  : 

"  It  is  well.  Then  learn  now  what  it  is  that  the 
Most  High  God  said  to  thy  father,  and  to  Moses, 
and  to  me.  He  will  lead  us  forth  from  the  land 
of  Egypt,  far,  far  away,  to  a  land  where  neither 
Pharaoh  nor  his  rulers  shall  have  dominion  over  us, 
and  He  alone  will  be  our  King.  This  is  His  will ; 
and  if  thou  desire  to  serve  Him  thou  shalt  follow  us, 
and,  if  we  have  need  to  fight,  be  Captain  over  the 
men  of  our  people." 

At  this  he  beat  his  breast  and  cried  in  great  trou- 
ble :  "  I  am  bound  by  an  oath  to  return  home  to 
Tanis  to  tell  Pharaoh  how  the  leaders  of  the  Hebrews 
have  received  the  message  which  I  have  brought  to 
them.  Yea,  and  even  if  it  should  break  my  heart 
I  cannot  be  forsworn." 

"  And  rather  shall  mine  break,"  Miriam  moaned, 
"than  I  break  my  vow  to  the  Lord.  We  have 
chosen.  And  here,  in  the  presence  of  this  heap  of 
stones,  all  the  ties  are  cut  which  ever  bound  us !  " 

At  this  he  was  beside  himself ;  he  eagerly  strove 
to  take  her  hand,  but  she  repulsed  him  with  an  im- 
perious gesture,  turned  away,  and  went  forward 


200  JOSHUA. 

towards  the  throng  of  people  who  were  crowding 
round  the  well  with  the  cattle  and  sheep. 

Great  and  small  respectfully  made  way  for  her  as 
she  walked  Avith  proud  dignity  towards  Hur,  who 
was  giving  orders  to  the  shepherds.  He  came  to 
meet  her,  and  when  he  had  heard  the  promise  she 
made  him  in  an  undertone,  he  laid  his  hand  on  her 
head  and  said  with  grave  solemnity  :  "  May  the  Lord 
bless  our  union." 

Then,  hand  in  hand  with  the  gray-haired  man 
to  whom  she  had  plighted  her  troth,  Miriam  turned 
to  meet  Joshua,  and  nothing  betrayed  the  deep  agi- 
tation of  her  soul  but  the  fluttering  rise  and  fall  of 
her  bosom,  though  her  cheeks  were  indeed  pale  ;  her 
eyes  were  dry,  and  her  demeanor  as  unbending  as 
ever. 

She  left  it  to  Hur  to  tell  the  lover  whom  she  had 
rejected  now  and  forever,  what  she  had  done ;  and 
when  the  warrior  heard  it  he  started  back  as  though 
a  gulf  had  yawned  at  his  feet. 

His  lips  were  bloodless  as  he  gazed  at  the  unequally 
matched  pair.  Scornful  laughter  seemed  to  him  the 
only  fit  answer  for  such  an  announcement ;  but  Mir- 
iam's earnest  face  helped  him  to  suppress  it,  and  to 
conceal  his  painful  agitation  under  some  trivial 
speech.  However,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  for  long 
preserve  the  semblance  of  equanimity,  so  he  bid 
Miriam  farewell.  He  must,  as  he  hastily  explained, 
greet  his  father  and  request  him  to  call  a  meeting  of 
the  Elders. 

But  before  he  had  done  speaking,  the  quarrelling 


JOSHUA.  201 

herdsmen  came  crowding  round  Hur  that  he  might 
decide  what  place  in  the  procession  it  behooved  each 
tribe  to  take ;  so  he  went  with  them  ;  and  as  soon  as 
Miriam  found  herself  alone  with  the  soldier,  she 
said  beseechingly,  but  in  a  low  voice  and  with  im- 
ploring eyes : 

"  A  hasty  deed  has  broken  the  bonds  that  united 
us  ;  but  a  higher  tie  still  holds  us  together.  As  I 
have  given  up  that  which  my  heart  held  dearest,  to 
be  faithful  to  my  God  and  my  people,  so  do  thou 
sacrifice  that  to  Avhich  thy  soul  clings.  Obey  the 
Most  High,  who  hath  named  thee  Joshua  !  This 
hour  hath  changed  our  gladness  into  bitter  grief; 
may  the  good  of  the  people  be  its  fruits !  Eemain  a 
true  son  of  the  race  which  gave  thee  thy  father  and 
mother,  and  be  what  the  Lord  hath  called  thee  to 
be,  a  captain  of  his  people. 

"  If  thou  abide  by  the  oath  thou  hast  sworn  to 
Pharaoh,  and  reveal  to  the  Elders  the  promises  thou 
hast  brought,  they  will  go  over  to  thy  side,  that  I 
know  full  well.  Few  will  stand  up  against  thee,  but 
foremost  of  these  few  will  be  thine  own  father.  I 
can  hear  him  uplift  his  voice  in  anger  against  his 
own  beloved  son,  and  if  thou  shut  thine  ear  even  to 
his  admonition,  then  the  people  will  follow  thee  in- 
stead of  following  the  Lord  and  thou  wilt  lead  the 
Israelites,  as  a  mighty  man  of  valor.  But  then 
when  the  day  comes  in  which  the  Egyptian  lets  his 
promises  fly  to  the  four  winds  thou  wilt  see  thy  peo- 
ple more  cruelly  oppressed  than  even  heretofore,  and 
when  they  turn  aside  from  the  .God  of  their  fathers 


202  JOSHUA. 

to  worship  the  gods  with  the  heads  of  beasts,  the 
curse  of  thy  father  shall  fall  upon  thee.  The  wrath 
of  the  Most  High  shall  be  visited  upon  the  f roward, 
and  despair  shall  be  the  lot  of  him  who  shall  lead  the 
foolish  folk  astray  after  that  the  Lord  hath  chosen 
him  to  be  the  captain  of  His  people.  I,  a  weak 
woman,  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  and  the  damsel 
who  loved  thee  better  than  life,  I  cry  unto  thee : 
Beware  of  the  curse  of  thy  father  and  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  !  Beware  lest  thou  lead  the  people  into  sin ! " 

A  slave  girl  here  came  out  to  Miriam  to  bid  her 
go  to  the  old  people,  so  she  only  added  in  a  low 
voice :  "  One  word  more.  If  thou  would'st  prove 
thyself  not  less  weak  than  the  woman  whose  opposi- 
tion moved  thee  to  anger,  renounce  thine  own  will 
for  the  sake  of  the  multitude  of  thy  brethren.  Lay 
thine  hand  on  this  heap  and  swear  to  me — 

But  the  prophetess's  voice  failed  her.  Her  hands 
felt  about  vainly  for  some  support,  and  with  a  cry 
she  fell  on  her  knees  close  to  Hur's  heap  of  stones. 
Joshua  hastened  to  raise  her,  holding  her  in  his 
strong  arm,  and  at  his  call  some  women  hurried  up 
and  soon  revived  the  fainting  girl. 

As  she  opened  her  eyes  they  wandered  vaguely 
from  one  to  another,  and  it  was  not  till  her  gaze  fell 
on  Joshua's  anxious  face  that  she  fully  understood 
where  she  was  and  what  had  happened.  Then  she 
hastily  drank  a  deep  draught  of  the  water  which  a 
shepherd  woman  offered  her,  dried  her  eyes  which 
were  streaming  with  tears,  sighed  bitterly,  and  with 
a  wan  smile  said  to  Joshua : 


JOSHUA.  203 

"  I  am  after  all  but  a  weak  woman." 

Then  she  went  towards  the  house,  but  after  walk- 
ing a  few  steps  she  turned  round,  signed  to  Joshua 
and  said : 

"  You  see  they  are  forming  in  ranks.  They  are 
about  to  set  forth.  Are  you  still  of  the  same  mind  ? 
There  is  yet  time  to  call  the  Elders  together." 

But  he  shook  his  head  in  denial,  and  as  he  met  her 
eye,  glistening  with  gratitude,  he  softly  replied :  "  I 
will  ever  bear  in  mind  this  heap  and  this  hour,  wife 
of  Hur !  Greet  my  father  from  me  and  tell  him 
that  I  love  him.  Tell  him  too  the  name  which  his 
son  is  henceforth  to  bear  by  the  command  of  the 
Most  High.  In  that  name  which  promised  me  the 
help  of  the  Lord,  he  shall  put  his  trust  when  he 
hears  whither  I  go,  to  keep  the  oath  I  have  sworn." 

He  waved  his  hand  to  Miriam  and  turned  to  go 
to  the  camp,  where  his  horse  had  been  fed  and 
watered  ;  but  she  called  after  him  : 

"  One  last  word.  Moses  left  a  letter  for  you  in 
the  hollow  of  the  tree." 

At  this  the  warrior  went  to  the  sycamore  and 
read  the  message  which  the  man  of  God  had  left  for 
him. 

"  Be  steadfast  and  strong,"  was  the  brief  injunc- 
tion, and  Joshua  raised  his  head  and  cried  joyfully, 
"  The  words  are  a  comfort  to  my  soul ;  and  if  it  is 
for  the  last  time  that  we  have  met,  Wife  of  Hur,  if 
I  now  goto  my  death,  be  sure  that  I  shall  know  how 
to  be  steadfast  and  strong,  even  unto  the  end.  And 
do  you  do  all  you  can  for  my  old  father." 


204  JOSHUA. 

Herewith  he  sprang  on  horseback,  and  as  he  made 
his  way  to  Tanis,  faithful  to  his  oath,  his  soul  was 
free  from  fears,  although  he  did  not  conceal  from 
himself  that  he  was  riding  forth  to  great  peril.  His 
highest  hopes  were  destroyed,  and  yet  glad  excite- 
ment struggled  Avith  his  grief  in  his  soul.  A  new 
and  glorious  emotion  had  its  birth  there,  filling  his 
whole  being,  and  it  was  scarcely  damped,  though  he 
had  suffered  a  wound  cruel  enough  to  darken  the 
light  of  day  to  any  other  man.  He  had  now  a  fixed 
aim  in  life,  and  besides  this  he  had  the  assurance 
that  he  might  hold  himself  as  worthy  as  Hur  or  as 
any  other  man.  None  could  depose  him  from  this 
high  place  but  the  glorious  twain  to  whom  he  would 
dedicate  his  blood  and  his  life :  his  God  and  his 
people. 

He  was  amazed  to  discern  how  greatly  this  new 
enthusiasm  cast  into  the  shade  everything  else  that 
stirred  in  his  breast.  Now  and  again,  indeed,  he 
bowed  his  head  in  sorrow  as  he  remembered  his  old 
father ;  still,  he  had  done  right  in  setting  aside  his 
longing  to  press  him  once  more  to  his  heart.  The 
old  man  would  scarcely  have  understood  his  motives, 
and  it  was  better  for  them  to  separate  without  meet- 
ing, rather  than  in  open  dissension. 

Sometimes  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  all  that 
had  happened  could  be  but  a  dream  ;  and  as  he  was 
still  intoxicated,  as  it  were,  by  the  agitations  of  the 
last  few  hours,  his  stalwart  frame  was  but  little  con- 
scious of  the  fatigues  he  had  gone  through.  At  a 
well-known  inn  on  the  road,  where  he  found  several 


JOSHUA.  205 

warriors,  and  among  them  certain  Captains  of  his 
acquaintance,  he  at  length  allowed  himself  and  his 
horse  to  rest  and  eat,  and  as  he  rode  on  refreshed, 
daily  life  asserted  its  rights ;  he  passed  various  com- 
panies of  soldiers  on  their  way  to  the  city  of  Tanis, 
and  was  informed  that  they  were  under  orders  to 
join  themselves  there  to  the  troops  which  he  him- 
self had  brought  home  from  Libya. 

At  last  he  rode  into  the  town,  and  as  he  went  past 
the  temple  of  Amon  he  heard  loud  wailing,  though 
he  had  learned  on  his  way  that  the  pestilence  was 
well  nigh  at  an  end.  From  many  signs  he  gathered 
the  fact  which  was  presently  announced  to  him  by 
some  guards  ;  the  god's  high-priest  and  first  prophet, 
Ruie,  had  just  died  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age, 
and  Baie,  the  second  prophet,  who  had  so  warmly 
assured  him  of  his  friendship  and  gratitude,  and  who 
counted  on  his  co-operation  in  a  dangerous  enter- 
prise, was  his  successor — High-priest  and  Judge, 
Seal-bearer  and  Treasurer,  in  short  the  most  power- 
ful man  in  the  kingdom. 


2C>6  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"  HE  whom  Jehovah  helps !  "  murmured  a  chain- 
laden  prisoner  with  a  bitter  smile,  as,  five  days  later, 
he,  with  forty  fellow-sufferers,  was  led  through  the 
triumphal  arch  of  Tanis  towards  the  East. 

Their  destination  was  the  mines  on  the  peninsula 
of  Sinai,  where  fresh  forced  laborers  were  needed. 

The  smile  on  the  victim's  face  soon  vanished  5 
then  he  drew  up  his  muscular  form  while  his  bearded 
lips  muttered  the  words :  "  Steadfast  and  strong ; " 
and  he  tvhispered  to  the  youth  who  was  walking  at 
his  side,  as  though  he  wished  to  convey  to  him  some 
of  the  strength  that  he  had  recovered  :  "  Courage, 
Ephraim,  courage ;  look  up  and  not  in  the  dust,  come 
what  may ! " 

"Silence  whilst  marching!"  cried  one  of  the 
armed  Libyan  guards  who  escorted  the  gang,  to  the 
elder  prisoner,  and  he  raised  his  whip  with  a  menac- 
ing gesture.  Joshua  was  the  man  he  threatened, 
and  his  companion  was  Ephraim,  who  had  been  con- 
demned to  share  his  fate. 

Every  Egyptian  child  knew  what  this  meant,  for 
"  Send  me  to  the  mines ! "  was  this  people's  most 
dreadful  imprecation,  and  no  prisoner's  lot  was  half 
so  hard  as  that  of  the  condemned  state  criminal. 


JOSHUA.  207 

A  series  of  frightful  humiliations  and  hardships 
awaited  them  at  the  mines.  The  strength  of  the 
healthiest  was  ruined  by  unheard-of  over-work,  and 
the  exhausted  victims  were  forced  to  do  things  so 
far  beyond  their  power  that  they  soon  sank  into  the 
everlasting  rest  for  which  their  martyred  souls  had 
long  pined.  To  be  sent  to  the  mines  was  equivalent 
to  a  slow  and  agonizing  death ;  and  yet  life  is  so 
dear  to  man,  that  it  was  regarded  as  a  milder  pun- 
ishment to  be  dragged  off  to  forced  labor  in  the 
mountains  than  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Execu- 
tioner. 

Joshua's  encouraging  words  had  little  effect  on 
Ephraim ;  but  when,  a  few  minutes  later,  a  chariot 
shaded  by  an  umbrella  drove  past  the  gang,  and  in 
it,  behind  the  charioteer  and  a  matron,  stood  an  ele- 
gant young  woman,  he  turned  round  quickly  and 
gazed  after  the  vehicle  with  sparkling  eyes,  until 
the  dust  on  the  road  hid  it  from  sight. 

The  lady  was  thickly  veiled,  yet  the  youth 
thought  that  he  had  recognized  her  for  whose  sake 
he  had  rushed  into  peril,  and  whose  lightest  sign  he 
would  even  now  fly  to  obey.  And  Ephraim  had 
guessed  correctly,  for  the  lady  in  the  chariot  was 
Kasana,  the  daughter  of  the  Captain  of  the  Archers ; 
the  elder  woman  was  her  nurse. 

On  reaching  a  little  temple  on  the  road,  near  a 
thicket  of  acacia,  amongst  which  stood  a  well  for 
the  use  of  travellers,  after  the  chariot  had  left  the 
prisoners  at  some  distance  behind,  Kasana  begged 
the  matron  to  wait.  Then,  springing  out  lightly  on 


208  JOSHUA. 

the  road,  she  walked  to  and  fro  with  a  bowed  head, 
under  the  shadow  of  the  trees,  until  she  knew  by  a 
rolling  cloud  of  dust  that  the  criminals  were  ap- 
proaching. 

Then,  taking  out  of  her  garment  some  gold  rings 
which  she  had  brought  with  her  for  the  purpose,  she 
went  up  to  the  driver  of  the  melancholy  procession 
as  he  drew  near  on  an  ass,  and  whilst  she  talked  to 
him  and  pointed  to  Joshua,  the  guard  cast  a  stolen 
glance  at  the  rings  which  had  been  slipped  into  his 
hand.  His  modesty  had  only  allowed  him  to  expect 
silver,  and  his  face  at  once  assumed  a  friendly  and 
courteous  expression  at  the  sight  of  their  pleasing 
yellow  glitter. 

His  countenance  certainly  darkened  again  at  the 
demand  Kasana  made,  but  it  brightened  once  more 
at  a  promise  of  further  largesse  from  the  young 
widow.  "  Take  the  moles  to  the  well,  men !  Let 
them  drink !  They  shall  go  fresh  and  healthy  under 
ground !  " 

Then  he  rode  up  to  the  prisoners  and  called  to 
Joshua : — "  You,  who  have  yourself  once  ruled  over 
many  people,  still  seem  to  me  more  stiffnecked  than 
is  good  for  you  or  me.  You,  guards,  look  after  the 
others.  I  will  watch  this  one,  I  have  a  few  words 
to  say  to  him." 

Then  he  clapped  his  hands  as  if  he  were  driving 
poultry  from  a  garden,  and  whilst  the  prisoners  drew 
water  in  the  buckets  of  the  well,  and,  with  their 
guards,  rejoiced  in  the  refreshing  drink,  the  leader 
led  Joshua  and  Ephraim  on  one  side,  for  they  could 


JOSHUA.  209 

not  be  separated  by  reason  of  the  chains  that  bound 
them  together  by  the  ankles.  They  were  soon  hid- 
den from  the  others  behind  the  little  temple,  and 
then  the  driver  sank  down  on  a  bench  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, having  first  with  a  significant  gesture  shown 
the  two  Hebrews  the  bludgeon  in  his  right  hand, 
and  pointed  to  the  dogs  who  were  rubbing  against 
his  feet. 

He  kept  his  eyes  open  too  during  the  conversation 
that  followed.  They  might  say  what  they  pleased ; 
he  knew  his  duty ;  and  though  he  understood  how 
to  shut  one  eye  on  a  parting,  in  return  for  good  gold, 
for  quite  twenty  years,  in  spite  of  many  attempts  to 
escape  amongst  his  moles — as  he  called  those  con- 
demned to  the  mines — not  one  had  ever  succeeded 
in  getting  away. 

The  lovely  woman  was  perhaps  this  fine  fellow's 
betrothed,  for  he  had  been  told  that  Joshua  had 
been  a  commander.  But  he  had  already  called 
many  noble  birds  his  "  moles,"  and  if  this  veiled 
woman  should  contrive  to  slip  files  or  gold  into  the 
prisoners'  hands,  so  much  the  better ;  this  evening 
nothing  on  these  two  should  be  left  unsearched,  not 
even  the  youth's  black  hair,  which  had  been  left 
unshorn  in  the  confusion  that  had  taken  place 
at  the  start  of  the  prisoners,  for  they  had  been 
sent  off  just  before  the  departure  of  Pharaoh's 
army. 

The  subject  of  the  woman's  whispered  negotia- 
tions with  the  fallen  captain  remained  unknown  to 
the  driver,  but  from  her  sorrowful  face  and  manner 
H 


2IO  JOSHUA. 

he  inferred  that  she  had  caused  the  ruin  of  this  noble 
man, — Oh  !  woman,  woman ! — and  that  lad  in  chains ! 
the  glances  he  cast  at  the  slender  creature  were  so 
ardent  that  she  had  to  draw  her  veil  closer.  But 
patience!  Great  Father  Amon!  His  moles  were 
going  to  a  good  school  for  modesty. 

Now  the  woman  removed  her  veil.  She  was 
beautiful!  It  must  be  hard  to  part  with  such  a 
lovely  creature — and  now  she  cried  so  bitterly. 

The  rough  guard's  heart  was  touched  as  much  as 
his  position  would  allow,  and  he  could  willingly  have 
struck  the  elder  prisoner  with  his  whip,  for  it  was 
not  an  outrage,  having  such  a  lover,  to  stand  like 
stone.  At  first  the  wretch  did  not  even  stretch  out 
a  hand  to  the  woman  who  certainly  loved  him ; 
whilst  he,  the  guard,  would  have  been  glad  to  see 
the  two  kiss  and  embrace. 

Or  was  this  beauty  perhaps  the  warrior's  wife, 
who  had  deceived  him  ?  But  no,  no,  how  kindly  he 
approached  her  now !  A  father  speaks  like  that  to 
his  child,  but  his  mole  was  much  too  young  to  have 
so  old  a  daughter.  A  riddle !  However  he  did  not 
care  about  the  answer,  since  it  was  in  his  power 
during  the  march  to  make  the  most  taciturn  convict 
as  frank  as  an  open  book. 

And  not  alone  the  simple  driver  $>f  the  gang,  but 
any  one  might  have  wondered  why  this  beautiful 
woman  had  come  out  into  the  highway  at  early 
dawn  to  see  an  unfortunate  man  weighed  down  with 
chains.  Nothing  but  tormenting  anxiety  for  the 
man  she  loved  could  have  impelled  Kasana  to  take 


JOSHUA.  211 

this  journey  and  expose  herself  to  scorn  as  a  woman 
of  no  reputation.  A  terrible  fate  awaited  him ;  her 
lively  imagination  had  pictured  Joshua  in  the  mines, 
languishing,  broken  down,  pining  away  and  at  last 
dying  with  a  curse  on  her  upon  his  lips. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  Ephraim, 
shivering  with  high  fever  and  half  choked  with  dust, 
was  carried  into  their  house,  her  father  informed  her 
that  in  the  person  of  the  young  Hebrew  she  held  a 
hostage  which  would  force  Hosea  to  return  to  Tanis, 
and  yield  to  the  wishes  of  the  prophet  Baie,  with 
whom  she  knew  her  father  to  be  allied  in  a  secret 
plot.  He  likewise  confided  to  her  that  not  only 
were  great  distinctions  and  high  honors  to  be  offered 
to  Hosea,  but  also  marriage  with  herself,  to  secure 
his  fidelity  to  Egypt  and  to  a  cause  from  which  he, 
Hornecht,  looked  for  great  benefits  to  the  country 
and  to  his  own  kindred.  This  had  filled  her  with 
high  hopes  of  attaining  long-wished-for  joys,  and  as 
they  sat  near  the  little  road-side  temple  she  now 
confessed  this  to  the  prisoner  with  a  drooping  head 
and  low  sobs ;  for  he  was  now  forever  lost  to  her, 
and  even  if  he  could  not  return  the  love  she  had  felt 
for  him  since  her  childhood,  he  at  any  rate  would 
not  hate  her  and  condemn  her  unheard. 

Joshua,  indeed,  listened  to  her  willingly,  and 
assured  her  that  nothing  would  gladden  his  heart 
more  than  that  she  should  clear  herself  from  the 
reproach  of  being  answerable  for  the  terrible  fate 
awaiting  himself  and  the  youth  by  his  side. 

At  this  she  sobbed  aloud,  and  had  to  struggle  to 


212  JOSHUA. 

compose  herself  before  she  could  succeed  in  telling 
her  story  with  any  degree  of  calmness. 

Shortly  after  Hosea's  departure  the  high  priest 
had  died,  and  Baie,  the  second  prophet  of  Amon,  had 
succeeded  him.  Things  were  then  greatly  altered ; 
this  man,  the  most  powerful  in  the  land,  stirred  up 
Pharaoh  to  hatred  against  the  Hebrews  and  their 
leader  Moses,  whom  till  then  the  King  and  Queen 
had  protected  and  feared.  He  had  also  persuaded 
the  King  to  pursue  the  fugitive  Hebrews,  and  the 
Army  was  at  once  ordered  to  go  forth  and  compel 
them  to  return.  She  immediately  feared  that  Hosea 
would  certainly  refuse  to  fight  against  those  who 
were  of  his  own  blood,  and  that  it  must  anger  him 
to  be  sent  forth  to  sign  a  contract  which  the  Egyp_ 
tians  would  begin  to  break  before  they  could  know 
whether  it  had  been  accepted.  Then,  when  he  had 
returned  home,  he  himself  knew,  only  too  well,  how 
Pharaoh  had  treated  him  like  a  prisoner,  and  had 
refused  to  admit  him  to  his  presence  until  he  had 
sworn  to  continue  to  lead  the  Egyptian  troops,  and 
to  remain  a  faithful  servant  to  the  King.  Still, 
Baie,  the  High  Priest,  had  not  forgotten  that  she 
had  saved  his  life,  and  was  well  disposed  towards  him 
and  grateful ;  and  she  knew  that  he  had  hoped  to 
entangle  Hosea  in  the  secret  conspiracy  in  which 
her  father  also  was  implicated.  It  was  Baie,  too, 
who  had  caused  Pharaoh  to  release  him  from  fighting 
against  his  own  nation,  on  condition  of  his  renewing 
his  oath  of  fidelity  ;  to  place  him  in  command  of  the 
foreign  mercenaries ;  and  to  raise  him  to  the  high 


JOSHUA. 

rank  of  "  Friend  of  the  King," — but  of  course  he 
must  know  all  this  already,  for  the  new  High  Priest 
had  with  his  own  hand  set  the  tempting  prospect 
before  Hosea,  who  had  rejected  it  with  such  firm 
and  manly  decision.  Her  father  had,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, been  on  his  side,  and,  for  the  first  time  had 
entirely  refrained  from  speaking  with  reproach  of 
his  Hebrew  origin. 

On  the  third  day  after  Hosea's  return,  the  Captain 
of  the  Archers  had  gone  out  to  speak  with  him,  and 
since  then  everything  had  gone  wrong.  He  there- 
fore must  know  what  it  was  that  had  turned  the 
man  of  whom  she  dared  think  no  evil,  since  she  was 
his  daughter,  from  being  a  friend  into  a  mortal 
enemy.  She  looked  inquiringly  into  Hosea's  face, 
and  he  was  ready  with  his  answer.  The  Captain 
had  told  him  that  he  would  be  a  welcome  son-in-law. 

"  And  you  ? "  asked  Kasana,  looking  anxiously  at 
the  speaker. 

"  I,"  replied  the  prisoner,  "  could  only  say  that  you 
had  from  your  childhood  been  kind  and  dear  to  me, 
but  that  nevertheless  there  was  much  to  forbid  my 
linking  the  fate  of  any  woman  to  mine." 

At  this  Kasana's  eyes  flashed,  and  she  cried  : — 
"  It  is  because  you  love  another — a  woman  of  your 
own  people — the  woman  who  sent  Ephraim  to  you ! " 

But  Joshua  shook  his  head  and  answered  gently  : 
— "  You  are  in  error,  Kasana.  The  woman  of  whom 
you  speak  is  at  this  day  another  man's  wife." 

"  But  then,"  cried  the  widow,  with  revived  spirit 
as  she  looked  at  him  with  tender  entreaty,  "  Why 


2 14  JOSHUA. 

• — oh !   forgive  me — why  did  you  repulse  him  so 
harshly  ? " 

"  That  was  far  from  my  purpose,  dear  child,"  he 
replied  warmly,  laying  his  hand  on  her  head.  "I 
always  have  thought  of  you  with  all  the  affection  of 
which  I  am  capable.  And  though  I  could  not,  in- 
deed, accede  to  his  wish,  it  was  because  the  sternest 
necessity  forbids  me  ever  to  look  forward  to  that 
peace  and  joy  by  my  own  hearth  which  other  men  may 
strive  for.  If  I  had  been  a  free  man,  my  life  would 
have  been  one  of  constant  journeying  and  warfare." 

"  But  how  many  men,"  Kasana  put  in,  "  wield  the 
sword  and  shield  indeed,  but  rejoice  at  their  home- 
coming to  their  wives,  and  the  joys  they  find  under 
their  own  roof." 

"  Yery  true,"  said  he  sadly.  "  But  the  duties  that 
call  me  are  such  as  the  Egyptians  know  not  of.  I 
am  the  son  of  my  Nation." 

"  And  you  purpose  to  serve  it  ? "  said  Kasana. 
"  Oh !  I  quite  understand  you.  But  then — why  did 
you  return  to  Tanis  ?  Why  did  you  trust  yourself 
in  Pharaoh's  power  ? " 

"  Because  I  was  pledged  by  a  sacred  oath,  my 
child  "  said  he  kindly. 

"  An  oath !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  A  promise  which 
puts  death  and  captivity  between  you  and  her  whom 
you  love,  and  those  whom  you  desire  to  serve !  Oh  ! 
would  that  you  had  never  come  back  to  this  land  of 
unrighteousness,  of  treachery  and  ingratitude.  That 
oath  will  plunge  many  into  grief  and  weeping. — But 
what  does  a  man  care  for  the  woe  he  brings  on 


JOSHUA.  -  215 

others  1  You  have  spoilt  all  my  joy  in  life,  hapless 
creature  that  I  am ;  and  at  home,  among  your  own 
people,  you  have  a  worthy  father  whose  only  son 
you  are.  How  often  have  I  seen  the  noble  old  man 
with  his  snow-white  hair  and  flashing  eye !  And  you 
will  be  like  him  if  you  attain  to  old  age,  as  I  used  to 
think  when  I  met  him  by  the  harbor,  or  in  the  fore- 
court of  the  High  Gate,  when  he  was  ordering  his 
hinds  to  bring  in  his  tribute  of  beasts  or  woolly  sheep 
to  the  receipt  of  custom.  And  now  his  latter  days 
are  to  be  darkened  by  his  son's  perversity." 

"  And  now,"  corrected  Joshua,  "  his  son  is  going 
into  misery,  loaded  with  fetters ;  still  he  may  hold 
his  head  high  above  those  who  have  betrayed  him. 
They,  and  Pharaoh  at  their  head,  have  forgotten  that 
I  have  shed  my  heart's  blood  for  them  on  many  a 
battle-field,  and  been  faithful  to  the  King  through 
every  kind  of  danger.  Menephtah  has  abandoned 
me,  and  with  him  his  chief  minister,  whose  life  I 
saved,  and  many  another  who  once  called  me  friend  ; 
they  have  deserted  me  and  cast  me  out,  and  this  in- 
nocent lad  with  me.  But  I  tell  you,  woman,  those 
who  have  done  this,  those  who  have  committed  this 
sin— one  and  all,  shall — " 

"  Curse  them  not !  "  cried  Kasana,  and  her  cheeks 
flushed  scarlet. 

But  Joshua  did  not  heed  her  prayer,  but  exclaimed, 
"  Should  I  be  a  man  if  I  did  not  thirst  for  venge- 
ance ? " 

The  young  woman  clung  in  terror  to  his  arm  and 
beseechingly  went  on  : — 


216  JOSHUA. 

"  How  indeed  can  you  forgive  him  ?  Only  do 
not  curse  my  father,  for  it  was  out  of  love  for  me 
that  he  became  your  enemy.  You  know  him  well, 
and  his  hot  blood  which  easily  carries  him  to  ex- 
tremes it  spite  of  his  years.  He  kept  silence,  even 
to  me,  of  what  he  took  as  an  insult — for  he  has  seen 
me  courted  by  many  suitors  and  I  am  precious  above 
all  else  in  his  eyes.  Sooner  will  Pharaoh  forgive 
the  rebel  than  my  father  will  pardon  the  man  who 
scorns  me,  his  dearest  treasure.  He  came  home 
frantic  with  rage.  Every  word  he  spoke  was  abuse. 
Then  he  could  not  bear  to  remain  indoors,  and  he 
stormed  outside  as  he  had  stormed  within.  At  last, 
however,  he  would  have  allowed  himself  to  be  paci- 
fied, as  he  often  had  done  before,  if  he  had  not  met 
some  one  in  the  palace  courts  who  made  it  his  busi- 
ness to  pour  oil  on  the  flames.  I  heard  all  this  from 
the  High-priest's  wife,  for  she  too  was  greatly  trou- 
bled to  think  that  she  had  brought  evil  upon  you,  and 
her  husband  had  already  done  every  thing  in  his 
power  to  save  you.  She,  who  is  as  brave  as  a  man, 
was  ready  to  second  him,  and  to  open  the  door  of 
your  prison  ;  she  has  not  forgotten  that  you  saved 
her  husband's  life  in  Libya.  Ephraim's  chains  were 
to  be  struck  off  at  the  same  time  as  yours,  and  all 
was  ready  to  enable  you  to  escape." 

"  I  know,"  replied  Hosea  gloomily.  "  And  I 
would  return  thanks  to  the  God  of  my  fathers  if 
they  spoke  falsely,  who  told  me  that  it  was  your 
doing,  Kasana,  that  our  dungeon  was  locked  on  us 
more  closely  than  ever." 


JOSHUA.  217 

At  this  the  pretty,  heart-broken  young  creature 
vxclaimed  vehemently  :  "  And  should  I  be  here  if 
frhat  were  true  ?  Hatred  indeed  seethed  in  my  soul, 
as  in  that  of  every  woman  whose  love  is  scorned ; 
but  the  ill  fortune  which  befell  you  quickly  changed 
my  wrath  into  pity,  and  revived  the  fires  in  my 
heart.  As  truly  as  I  pray  to  be  mercifully  judged 
after  my  death,  I  am  innocent  of  this  thing,  and 
never  ceased  to  hope  for  your  release.  It  was  not 
till  last  evening,  when  it  was  too  late,  that  I  learnt 
that  Baie's  attempt  had  failed.  The  High-priest 
can  do  much,  but  the  very  man  whom  he  will  not 
thwart  is  closely  allied  with  my  father." 

"  You  mean  Pharaoh's  nephew,  Prince  Siptah," 
interrupted  Joshua  in  great  excitement.  "  They 
hinted  to  me  the  plots  they  were  weaving  about  him. 
They  wanted  to  set  me  in  the  place  of  Aarsu,  the 
Syrian  Captain,  if  I  would  but  consent  to  let  them 
work  their  will  with  my  people  and  renounce  my 
own  flesh  and  blood.  But  rather  would  I  have  died 
twenty  deaths  than  stain  myself  with  such  treason. 
Aarsu  is  far  more  fit  for  such  dark  schemes,  though 
at  last  he  will  betray  them  all. — So  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, the  prince  has  good  reason  to  hate  me." 

At  this  Kasana  put  her  hand  over  her  mouth, 
pointing  uneasily  to  Ephraim  and  the  jailer,  and 
whispered : — "  Spare  my  father !  The  prince — what- 
ever it  was  that  roused  his  enmity— 

"  The  profligate  is  seeking  to  tempt  you  too  into 
his  net  and  he  has  been  told  that  you  are  in  love 
with  me,"  the  warrior  broke  in.  But  she  only 


JOSHUA. 

blushed,  and  bending  her  head  in  assent  went 
on: — 

"  And  for  that  reason  Aarsu,  whom  he  has  taken 
into  the  conspiracy,  is  required  to  keep  such  close 
guard  over  you  and  Ephraim." 

"  The  Syrian's  eyes  are  wide  open,"  cried  Hosea. 
"  But  now,  enough  of  this.  I  believe  you,  and  thank 
you  heartily  for  coming  to  us  hapless  wretches. 
How  often  have  I  thought  with  affection,  even  on 
the  field,  of  the  sweet  maid  whose  blossoming  I  had 
watched ! " 

"  And  you  will  always  think  of  poor  Kasana  with- 
out wrath  or  hatred  ? " 

"  Gladly ;  most  gladly." 

The  young  widow  grasped  the  captive's  hand  with 
passionate  agitation,  and  was  about  to  press  it  to  her 
lips,  but  he  drew  it  away ;  and  she  said  anxiously, 
gazing  up  at  him  with  tearful  eyes  : — "  Do  you  re- 
fuse me  the  favor  which  no  benefactor  refuses  to  a 
beggar  ? "  Then  she  suddenly  started  up,  and  ex- 
claimed so  loudly  that  the  jailer  was  roused  and 
looked  to  see  where  the  sun  was :  "  But  I  tell  you, 
the  time  will  come  when  you  will  offer  me  that  hand 
to  kiss.  For  when  the  messenger  shall  come  from 
Tanis  to  bring  you  and  this  lad  the  freedom  you 
pine  for,  it  will  be  to  Kasana  that  you  will  owe  it !  " 

The  fair  face  glowed  with  the  flush  of  eager  an- 
ticipation; and  Joshua,  seizing  her  hand,  exclaimed  : 
— "  Oh,  if  only  you  might  succeed  in  doing  what 
your  faithful  soul  desires !  How  can  I  bear  to 
prevent  your  trying  to  alleviate  the  terrible  misfort- 


JOSHUA.  219 

tine  which  fell  upon  this  boy  under  your  roof? 
Still,  as  an  honest  man,  I  must  tell  you  that  I  can 
never  more  take  service  with  the  Egyptians ;  come 
what  may,  I  shall  henceforth  forever  belong,  body 
and  soul,  to  those  whom  you  persecute  and  despise, 
the  nation  and  tribe  into  which  my  mother  bore 
me." 

At  this  her  lovely  head  drooped  ;  but  she  raised  it 
again  immediately  to  say : — "  There  is  no  one  so 
high-souled  and  honest  as  you,  no  one  that  I  have 
ever  known  from  my  childhood  up !  And  when, 
among  my  own  people,  I  fail  to  find  any  man  whom 
I  may  reverence,  I  will  remember  you,  in  whom 
everything  is  great,  and  true,  and  without  spot. 
And  if  poor  Kasana  may  succeed  in  setting  you  free, 
do  not  despise  her  if  you  find  her  fallen  away 
from  the  virtue  in  which  you  left  her ;  for  the 
humiliation  she  may  have  to  endure,  the  shame  she 
may  be  brought  to — 

Hosea  anxiously  interrupted  her : — 

"  What  are  you  about  to  do  ? "  he  cried ;  but  he 
was  not  to  hear  the  answer,  for  the  leader  of  the 
gang  rose  and  clapped  his  hands,  crying  out : — "  Now, 
on  again,  you  moles  ;  on  again  at  once." 

At  this  the  warrior's  heart  was  moved  to  deep  re- 
gret ;  obedient  to  •  a  hasty  impulse  he  kissed  the 
hapless  Kasana  on  her  fair  brow  and  hair,  and 
whispered : — "  Leave  me  to  pine  if  our  freedom  is  to 
cost  you  such  degradation.  We  shall  never,  indeed, 
meet  again  ;  for,  come  what  may,  my  life  henceforth 
will  be  nothing  but  a  struggle  and  self-sacrifice 


220  JOSHUA. 

The  night  will  close  in  on  us  darker  and  darker,  but, 
however  black  it  may  be,  one  star  will  often  shine 
on  me  and  on  this  lad.  The  remembrance  of  you, 
sweet  child,  my  loving  and  faithful  Kasana."  He 
pointed  to  Ephraim,  and  the  youth  pressed  his  lips, 
as  if  beside  himself,  to  the  hand  and  arm  of  Kasana 
who  was  sobbing  aloud. 

"Come  on!"  cried  the  driver  once  more,  and 
with  a  grateful  grin  for  a  fresh  gift  of  money,  he 
helped  the  open-handed  lady  into  her  chariot. 

The  horses  started,  fresh  shouts  were  heard,  the 
whip  cracked  here  and  there  on  bare  shoulders,  a 
few  wails  of  anguish  rose  through  the  morning  air, 
and  the  file  of  prisoners  went  off  towards  the  East. 
The  chains  on  the  victims'  feet  stirred  up  the  dust 
which  shrouded  the  wanderers,  as  grief  and  hatred 
and  dread  clouded  each  separate  soul  among  them. 

On  they  went,  bent  in  gloomy  brooding ;  only 
Hosea  held  his  head  erect.  It  was  a  comfort  to  him 
to  know  that  Kasana,  the  sweet  creature  he  had 
loved  as  a  child,  was  innocent  of  his  fate  ;  and  when 
his  spirit  sank  within  him  he  could  revive  it  by  re- 
peating to  himself  the  words  of  Moses : — "  Steadfast 
and  Strong." 


JOSHUA.  221 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

AT  a  long  hour's  distance  beyond  the  little  temple 
where  the  prisoners  had  rested,  the  road  leading 
southwards  to  Succoth  and  Baal  Zephon  parted 
from  that  which  led  in  a  south-easterly  direction 
across  the  fortified  frontier-line  to  the  isthmus  and 
the  mines. 

Not  long  after  the  departure  of  the  prisoners,  the 
army  gathered  together  to  pursue  the  Hebrews  had 
set  forth  from  the  city  of  Barneses ;  and  as  the 
criminals  had  rested  some  considerable  time  by  the 
well,  the  troops  had  nearly  overtaken  them.  Thus 
they  had  not  gone  much  further  when  some  pioneers 
rode  up  to  clear  the  highway  for  the  approaching 
host.  They  ordered  the  gang  of  prisoners  to  stand 
aside,  and  proceed  no  farther  till  the  swift  baggage 
train  containing  Pharaoh's  tents  and  household  gear 
should  have  passed  them ;  and,  indeed,  the  king's 
chariot-wheels  could  already  be  heard. 

The  drivers  were  all  content  to  be  bidden  to 
wait ;  they  were  in  no  hurry,  the  day  was  hot,  and 
if  they  were  late  in  reaching  their  journey's  end  it 
was  the  fault  of  the  army.  To  Joshua,  too,  the  in- 
cident was  agreeable,  for  his  young  companion  in 
chains  had  been  staring  before  him  as  if  in  delirium, 


222  JOSHUA. 

and  had  answered  his  questions  vaguely  or  not  at 
all,  so  that  the  older  man  was  growing  uneasy ;  he 
knew  full  \vell  how  many  of  those  condemned  to 
forced  labor  fell  into  madness  or  melancholy.  And 
now  a  portion  of  the  host  would  march  past  them, 
and  the  sight  was  new  to  the  lad,  and  might  rouse 
him  from  his  dull  moodiness.  There  was  by  the 
roadside  a  sand-hill  overgrown  by  tamarisk  bushes, 
and  to  this  the  driver  led  his  file  of  men.  He  was 
stern,  but  not  cruel,  so  he  allowed  his  "  moles "  to 
stretch  themselves  on  the  sand,  for  the  march  past 
would  be  a  long  business.  They  had  scarcely  set- 
tled themselves  when  the  roll  of  wheels,  the  neigh- 
ing of  fiery  steeds,  and  shouts  of  command  were 
heard ;  with  now  and  then  the  harsh  bray  of  an 
ass. 

As  the  foremost  chariots  approached,  Ephraim 
inquired  whether  Pharaoh  were  now  coming ;  but 
Joshua  informed  him  with  a  smile  that  when  the 
King  led  forth  his  troops  to  battle,  first  of  all,  im- 
mediately after  the  advanced  guard,  the  King's  camp 
and  furniture  were  sent  on ;  for  that  Pharaoh  and 
his  nobles  liked  to  find  their  tents  pitched  and  the 
tables  spread  when  the  day's  march  was  over,  and 
all,  officers  and  me1  n  alike,  were  to  rest  for  the  night. 

Hosea  had  not  ceased  speaking  when  a  number 
of  empty  carts  and  asses  free  of  burthens  came 
past ;  they  were  to  carry  the  tribute  of  bread  and 
meal,  beasts  and  birds,  wine  and  beer,  to  be  paid  by 
each  village  through  which  the  sovereign  should 
pass.  This  had  been  levied  by  the  collectors  the  day 


JOSHUA.  223 

before.  Soon  after  came  a  company  of  warriors  in 
chariots.  Each  small,  two-wheeled  chariot,  plated 
with  bronze,  was  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses,  and  in 
each  stood  a  man  and  a  charioteer.  Large  quivers 
were  attached  to  the  breast-work  of  the  chariots, 
and  the  soldiers  rested  on  their  spears,  or  on  their 
large  bows.  They  were  protected  against  the  mis- 
siles of  the  foe  by  shirts  covered  with  scale-armor, 
or  thickly  padded  coats  of  mail  under  gayly-colored 
tunics  ;  and  by  a  helmet,  as  well  as  the  breast-work 
of  the  chariot.  These,  whom  Joshua  designated  as 
the  vanguard,  went  forward  at  an  easy  pace,  and 
were  followed  by  a  vast  multitude  of  wagons  and 
carts  drawn  by  horses,  mules  or  oxen ;  and  with 
them  were  whole  herds  of  asses,  with  towering  loads 
on  their  backs. 

Next  he  pointed  out  to  his  nephew  the  tall  spears 
and  poles,  and  heavy  rolls  of  rich  stuffs  which  were 
to  be  used  in  erecting  the  King's  tent,  and  which 
were  a  burthen  for  several  beasts ;  the  asses  and  the 
carts  with  the  kitchen  utensils,  and  the  camp  smith- 
ies. With  these  came  the  leeches,  wardrobe  keepers, 
salve-makers,  cooks,  garland-winders,  attendants 
and  slaves  attached  to  the  Royal  camp,  all  mounted 
on  asses  driven  by  nimble  runners.  All  these,  hav- 
ing so  lately  set  out,  were  still  fresh  and  in  high 
spirits,  and  those  who  noticed  the  prisoners  flung 
many  a  sharp  jest  at  them,  as  is  the  Egyptian  way, 
though  several  applied  a  balm  in  the  shape  of  an 
alms  ;  others,  who  said  nothing,  sent  a  slave  with  a 
few  fruits  or  some  small  gift,  for  he  who  was  free 


224  JOSHUA. 

to-day  might,  on  the  morrow,  be  sent  after  these 
poor  wretches.  The  driver  let  this  pass,  and  when 
a  slave  whom  Joshua  had  sold  some  time  since  for 
his  dishonesty,  shouted  aloud  '.'  Hosea,"  and  pointed 
to  him  with  a  malignant  gesture,  the  good -hearted 
rough  fellow  offered  the  insulted  Hebrew  a  drink  of 
wine  out  of  his  own  flask. 

Ephraim,  who  had  fared  from  Succoth  on  foot, 
with  a  staff  in  his  hand,  and,  a  small  wallet  contain- 
ing dried  lamb's  flesh,  bread,  radishes  and  dates, 
expressed  his  amazement  at  the  numberless  men 
and  things  which  one  man  required  for  his  comfort, 
and  then  sank  into  melancholy  again  till  his  uncle 
roused  him  with  some  fresh  explanation. 

As  soon  as  the  camp  baggage  had  gone  by,  the 
driver  wanted  to  start  with  his  prisoners,  but  the 
King's  pioneer — the  "  opener  of  the  way  " — riding  in 
front  of  the  archers  of  the  guard  who  came  next, 
forbade  it,  as  it  ill  beseemed  criminals  to  mingle 
with  the  soldiers  ;  so  they  remained  on  their  hillock 
and  looked  at  the  rest  of  the  procession. 

After  the  archers  came  the  heavy  infantry,  carry- 
ing shields  of  string  or  hide,  so  large  as  to  cover  the 
brawny  bearers  from  their  feet  almost  to  the  chin  ; 
and  Hosea  told  the  boy  that  at  night  they  were 
placed  in  a'  circle  round  the  King's  camp,  and  so 
enclosed  it,  as  it  were,  with  a  fence.  Besides  their 
shields  they  carried  a  javelin,  and  wore  a  short 
dagger-like  sword  or  a  war-sickle.  When,  after  some 
thousands  of  these  heavily  armed  men,  there  followed 
a  troop  of  sling-men,  Ephraim  spoke  for  the  first 


JOSHUA.  225 

time  of  his  own  accord,  exclaiming  that  such  slings 
as  the  shepherds  had  taught  him  to  make  were  far 
better  than  those  of  the  soldiers  ;  and  then,  encour- 
aged by  his  uncle,  he  told  him,  so  eagerly  that  the 
men  lying  about  him  listened  to  his  words,  how  he 
himself  could  slay  not  merely  jackals,  wolves  and 
panthers,  with  a  stone  from  a  sling,  but  even  a  vult- 
ure on  the  wing.  And  meanwhile  he  asked  the 
meaning  of  the  standards  and  the  names  of  the  dif- 
ferent companies  of  warriors. 

Several  divisions  had  already  gone  past  when  at 
last  another  crowd  of  chariots  came  in  sight,  and  the 
driver  cried  aloud  : — "  The  kind  God  :  The  Lord  of 
both  worlds :  Long  life  to  him,  health  and  happi- 
ness !  "  As  he  spoke  he  fell  on  his  knees  in  an  atti- 
tude of  adoration,  and  the  prisoners  lay  prostrate  on 
their  faces,  to  kiss  the  ground,  holding  themselves 
in  readiness  to  join  at  the  right  moment,  at  their 
jailer's  signal,  in  the  cry,  "  All  hail  and  happi- 
ness ! " 

But  they  still  had  long  to  wait  before  the  expected 
monarch  appeared.  After  the  chariot-men  came 
the  royal  body-guard,  mercenaries  of  foreign  nations, 
wearing  a  peculiar  kind  of  helmet  and  long  swords. 
They  marched  on  foot,  and  immediately  behind 
them  a  vast  multitude  of  priests  and  scribes  appeared, 
with  a  number  of  images  of  the  gods.  Then  again 
a  company  of  guards,  and  at  last  Pharaoh  and  his 
Court.  Foremost  of  them  all  was  Baie,  the  High 
Priest,  in  a  gilt  war  chariot  drawn  by  splendid 
brown  steeds.  He  had,  in  former  days,  led  troops 
15 


226  JOSHUA. 

forth  to  battle,  and  had  taken  the  lead  of  this  pur- 
suing army  at  the  bidding  of  the  gods,  wearing  his 
priest's  robes  indeed,  but  also  the  helmet  and  battle 
axe  of  a  captain  of  the  host.  At  last,  close  behind 
Baie's  chariot,  came  Pharaoh  himself;  but  he  did 
not  ride  forth  to  battle  in  a  war-chariot,  as  his 
bolder  forefathers  had  done,  but  preferred  to  be 
borne  on  his  throne.  A  magnificent  canopy  over 
his  head  screened  him  from  the  scorching  sun,  and, 
to  the  same  end  he  was  surrounded  by  fan-bearers, 
carrying  immense  bunches  of  ostrich  feathers  fastened 
at  the  end  of  long  fan-sticks. 

When  Menephtah  had  fairly  left  the  city  and  the 
Gate  of  Yictory  behind  him,  and  the  triumphant 
shouts  of  the  populace  had  ceased  to  keep  him 
awake,  he  had  fallen  asleep ;  and  the  spreading  fans 
would  have  screened  his  face  and  person  from  the 
eyes  of  the  prisoners  if  their  cries  of  "  Hail !  "  had 
not  been  so  loud  as  to  rouse  him,  and  cause  him  to 
turn  his  head  towards  them.  But  the  gracious  wave 
of  his  hand  showed  that  he  had  something  else  in 
his  mind  than  criminals,  and  before  the  voices  of 
the  hapless  convicts  had  died  away  his  eyes  were 
closed  once  more. 

Ephraim's  dull  brooding  had  given  way  to  eager 
interest,  and  when  the  King's  gilt  chariot  came  past, 
empty,  drawn  by  the  most  splendid  horses  he  had 
ever  beheld,  he  broke  out  in  admiration.  These 
noble  beasts,  their  clever  heads  crowned  with  ostrich 
plumes,  and  their  harness  glittering  with  gold  and 
precious  stones,  were  indeed  a  sight  to  see.  The 


JOSHUA.  227 

large  gold  quiver  studded  with  emeralds,  at  the 
sides  of  the  chariot,  were  full  of  arrows.  The  sleep- 
ing man,  whose  feeble  hand  held  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment of  a  great  nation,  the  languid  idler  who  shunned 
every  sort  of  effort,  recovered  his  energies  as  soon 
as  he  was  in  the  hunting  field,  and  he  looked  upon 
this  expedition  as  a  hunt  on  a  grand  scale  ;  and  in- 
asmuch as  it  seemed  to  him  a  royal  sport  to  shoot 
his  arrows  at  men  instead  of  at  brute  game — at  men 
too  of  whom  he  had  but  lately  been  in  mortal  dread 
—he  had  yielded  to  the  High  Priest's  behest,  and 
come  with  the  army.  The  expedition  had  been  sent 
forth  by  order  of  Amon,  so  he  could  now  have  no 
further  cause  to  fear  the  power  of  Mesu.  When  he 
should  catch  him  he  would  make  him  repent  of  hav- 
ing struck  terror  to  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  and  his 
Queen,  and  causing  them  to  shed  so  many  tears  ! 

While  Joshua  was  telling  the  youth  from  what 
Phoenician  city  the  gilt  chariot  had  been  brought,  he 
suddenly  felt  his  wrist  clutched  by  Ephraim,  and 
heard  him  exclaim  :  "  She,  she !  — look,  it  is  she  !  " 

The  lad  was  crimson  with  blushes ;  nor  was  he 
mistaken,  for  there,  in  the  same  travelling  chariot  in 
which  she  had  come  to  visit  the  prisoners,  was 
Kasana ;  and  many  ladies  besides  formed  part  of  the 
Court  accompanying  this  expedition,  which  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  foot  soldiers,  a  brave  old  veteran  of  the  time 
of  the  Great  Kameses,  called  a  mere  party  of  pleas- 
ure. When  the  monarch  went  forth  across  the 
desert  to  do  battle  in  further  Syria,  Libya  and 
Ethiopia,  only  a  select  party  of  women  accom- 


228  'JOSHUA. 

panied  him,  in  curtained  vehicles,  under  the  con 
duct  of  eunuchs ;  but  on  this  occasion,  though  the 
Queen  had  remained  at  home,  Baie's  wife  and  some 
other  women  of  rank  had  set  the  example  of  going 
forth  with  the  troops,  and  it  had  been  a  tempting  op- 
portunity to  many  to  enjoy  the  excitement  of  war 
without  running  into  danger. 

Scarcely  an  hour  since,  Kasana  had  surprised  her 
old  friend,  the  High  Priest's  wife,  by  joining  the 
rest ;  for  only  yesterday,  nothing  could  persuade  the 
young  widow  to  go  forth  with  the  host.  Yielding  to 
a  sudden  impulse,  without  asking  her  father,  and 
with  so  little  preparation  that  she  had  not  the  most 
necessary  gear,  she  had  overtaken  the  army,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  the  magnet  which  had  drawn  her 
was  a  man  whom  she  had  hitherto  avoided,  albeit 
he  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Siptah  the  King's 
nephew. 

As  the  cortege  passed  the  sand-hill,  the  prince 
was  standing  by  the  fair  young  woman  in  her  wait- 
ing-woman's place,  and  interpreting  to  her  with 
many  a  jest  the  symbolism  of  the  flowers  in  a  nose- 
gay, while  Kasana  declared  it  could  not  have  been 
intended  for  her,  as  not  more  than  an  hour  since  she 
had  had  no  idea  of  following  the  expedition.  Siptah, 
however,  assured  her  that  even  at  sunrise  the  Hathors 
had  revealed  to  him  the  happiness  that  was  in  store 
for  him,  and  that  the  interpretation  of  these  flowers 
proved  it.  A  party  of  youthful  courtiers,  who  had 
quitted  their  chariots  or  litters,  were  walking  by 
the  side  of  her  carriage  and  taking  part  in  the  laugh- 


JOSHUA.  229 

ter  and  merry  talk ;  the  High  Priest's  wife  also  put 
in  a  word  now  and  again,  for  her  litter  was  borne 
close  by  Kasana's. 

All  this  had  not  escaped  Joshua ;  and  as  he  saw 
Kasana  with  the  prince,  whom  she  had  hitherto 
detested,  rapping  his  hand  with  her  fan  with  gay 
audacity,  his  brow  darkened  and  he  asked  himself 
whether  the  young  widow  had  not  been  cruelly 
mocking  him  in  his  overthrow.  But  at  this  moment 
the  driver  of  the  prison  gang  caught  sight  of  the 
curl  on  Siptah's  temple,  which  he  wore  as  a  badge 
of  the  blood  royal,  and  his  loud  cry  of  "  Hail,  hail ! " 
in  which  the  other  guards  and  the  prisoners  joined,  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Kasana  and  her  companion. 
They  turned  to  look  at  the  tamarisk  thicket  whence 
it  came,  and  then  Joshua  could  see  that  the  young 
woman  turned  pale,  and  with  a  hasty  gesture  pointed 
to  the  group.  She  must  have  given  Siptah  some 
behest,  for  the  prince  at  first  shrugged  his  shoulders, 
but,  after  some  delay  and  argument,  half  in  jest  and 
half  in  earnest,  he  sprang  from  his  chariot  and 
beckoned  to  the  driver  of  the  gang. 

"  Did  these  people  gaze  on  the  countenance  of  the 
kind  God,  the  Lord  of  both  Worlds  ?  "  he  asked,  in 
a  voice  so  loud  that  Kasana  must  have  heard  him 
from  the  road  ;  and  when  he  received  a  hesitating 
answer  he  went  on  in  haughty  tones : 

"  No  matter.  At  any  rate  they  have  seen  mine, 
and  that  of  the  fairest  of  women,  and  if,  by  reason 
of  that,  they  hope  for  mercy  they  are  justified.  You 
know  who  I  am.  Those  who  are  chained  together 


230  JOSHUA. 

are  to  be  relieved  of  their  fetters ; "  then  signing  to 
to  the  head  jailer,  he  whispered  in  his  ear :  "  But 
you  must  keep  your  eyes  open  all  the  wider.  That 
fellow  close  to  the  bush  is  that  Hosea  who  was  a 
captain  in  Pharaoh's  army.  When  I  am  at  home 
again,  come  and  tell  me  what  has  become  of  the 
man.  The  more  completely  you  can  quiet  him  the 
deeper  shall  I  dip  into  my  money-bag.  Do  you  un- 
derstand ? " 

The  man  bowed  low,  and  thought  to  himself :  "  I 
will  take  good  care,  my  prince,  and  see  that  no  one 
takes  the  life  of  any  of  my  moles.  The  greater  these 
lords,  the  stranger  and  more  bloody  are  their  de- 
mands. How  many  an  one  has  come  to  me  with  a 
similar  request.  Siptah  can  release  the  feet  of  these 
poor  wretches,  but  he  would  load  my  soul  with  a 
cowardly  murder  !  But  he  has  come  to  the  wrong 
man." — "  Here,  you  fellows,  bring  the  bag  of  tools 
this  way,  and  strike  the  chains  off  these  men's 
ankles." 

Pharaoh's  host  moved  on,  and  meanwhile  the  grind- 
ing of  files  was  heard  on  the  hillock,  the  prisoners 
were  freed  from  their  fetters,  and  then  for  security 
their  arms  were  tied. 

Kasana  had  desired  Prince  Siptah  to  have  the 
poor  creatures  who  were  being  led  away  to  misery, 
relieved  at  any  rate  of  their  heavy  foot  chains ;  and 
she  frankly  confessed  that  it  was  intolerable  to  her 
to  see  an  officer,  who  had  so  often  been  a  guest  in 
her  own  house,  so  terribly  humiliated.  The  High 
Priest's  wife  had  seconded  her  wish,  and  the  prince 


JOSHUA.  231 

had  been  forced  to  yield.  Joshua  knew  full  well 
to  whom  he  and  Ephraim  owed  this  respite,  and  re- 
ceived it  with  thankful  gladness.  Walking  was 
made  easier  to  him,  but  anxiety  weighed  him  down 
more  heavily  than  ever. 

The  army  which  had  marched  past  would  suffice 
to  annihilate  a  foe  ten  times  as  great  as  the  Hebrew 
force,  to  the  very  last  man.  His  nation,  and  with 
them  his  father  and  Miriam,  seemed  doomed  to  a 
cruel  death  ;  Miriam,  who  had  wounded  him  so 
deeply,  but  to  whom  he  owed  it  that  even  in  prison 
he  had  discerned  the  path  which  he  saw  was  the 
only  right  one.  However  powerful  the  God  might 
be  whose  greatness  the  prophetess  had  so  fervently 
extolled — to  whom,  indeed,  he  himself  had  learned 
to  look  up  with  fervent  adoration — the  sweeping  on- 
slaught of  this  vast  host  must  inevitably  and  utterly 
destroy  a  troop  of  unarmed  and  inexperienced  herds- 
men. This  certainty,  which  each  fresh  division  as 
it  passed  by  made  more  sure,  sank  deep  into  his 
soul.  Never  in  his  life  had  he  experienced  such  an- 
guish, and  that  pain  was  intensified  as  he  beheld  his 
own  men — all  well-known  faces  who  had  so  lately 
obeyed  his  word — under  the  orders  of  another.  And 
it  was  to  slaughter  his  own  kith  and  kin  that  they 
were  now  marching  to  the  field.  This  was  a  great 
grief ;  and  Ephraim's  state  likewise  gave  him  cause 
for  fresh  anxiety,  for  since  Kasana's  appearance  and 
her  intercession  for  him  and  his  companion  in  misfort- 
une, he  had  relapsed  into  silence  and  gazed  with 
wandering  eyes  either  at  the  rear  of  the  army  or 


232  JOSHUA. 

into  vacancy.  Ephraim  now  was  freed  of  his  irons, 
and  Joshua  asked  the  lad  in  an  undertone  whether 
he  did  not  feel  a  longing  to  return  to  his  people  and 
to  help  them  to  resist  so  mighty  an  armament,  but 
Ephraim  only  replied :  "  In  the  face  of  such  a  foe 
they  have  no  choice  ;  they  must  surrender.  What 
indeed  did  we  lack  before  our  departing  from  Zoan  ? 
You  were  a  Hebrew  as  they  wTere,  and  yet  you  rose 
to  be  a  mighty  captain  among  the  Egyptians  until 
you  obeyed  Miriam's  call.  I  should  have  acted  dif- 
ferently in  your  place." 

"  What  would  you  have  done  ?  "  asked  Joshua. 

"  What  ? "  replied  the  boy,  and  the  fiery  young 
soul  blazed  up  in  him.  "  What  ?  I  would  have  re- 
mained where  honor  and  fame  were  to  be  found, 
and  everything  that  is  good.  You  might  have  been 
the  greatest  of  the  great,  the  happiest  of  the  happy ! 
I  know  it  for  certain,  and  you  chose  otherwise !  " 

"  Because  duty  required  it,"  said  Joshua,  gravely  ; 
"  because  I  never  more  will  serve  any  one  but  the 
people  of  whose  blood  I  am." 

"  The  people !  "  said  the  boy,  contemptuously.  "  I 
know  the  people,  and  you  too  have  seen  them  at 
Succoth.  The  poor  are  abject  creatures  who  cringe 
under  the  lash;  the  rich  prize  their  beasts  above 
everything  on  earth,  and  those  who  belong  to  the 
heads  of  tribes  are  always  quarrelling  among  them- 
selves. Not  one  of  them  knows  what  is  pleasing  to 
the  eye  and  heart.  I  am  one  of  the  richest  of  the 
nation,  and  yet  I  shudder  to  remember  my  father's 
house  which  I  have  inherited,  though  it  is  one  of  the 


JOSHUA.  233 

largest  and  best.      Those  who  have  seen  anything 
finer  cease  to  care  for  that." 

At  this  the  veins  swelled  in  Joshua's  brow,  and  he 
wrathf  ully  reproved  the  lad  who  could  deny  his  own 
race,  and  fall  away  like  a  traitor  to  his  own  tribe. 

But  the  driver  commanded  silence,  for  Joshua  had 
raised  his  admonishing  voice,  and  the  defiant  lad 
was  well-pleased  to  obey.  As  they  went  on  their 
way,  whenever  his  uncle  looked  reproachfully  in  his 
face,  or  asked  him  whether  he  had  thought  better  of 
it,  he  sulkily  turned  his  back  and  remained  gloomily 
silent,  till  the  first  star  had  risen,  and  the  prisoners 
having  encamped  on  the  waste  for  the  night,  their 
meagre  fare  was  dealt  out  to  them. 

Joshua  dug  out  a  bed  in  the  sand  with  his  hands, 
and  kindly  and  skilfully  helped  his  nephew  to  do 
the  same.  Ephraim  accepted  his  service  in  silence ; 
but  presently,  as  they  lay  side  by  side,  and  Joshua 
began  to  speak  to  the  boy  of  the  God  of  his  fathers 
in  whose  help  they  must  put  their  trust  if  they  were 
not  to  perish  of  despair  in  the  mines,  Ephraim  inter- 
rupted him  saying  in  a  low  voice  but  with  a  fierce 
decisiveness : 

"  They  shall  never  get  me  to  the  mines  alive ! 
Sooner  will  I  perish  in  the  attempt  to  escape  than 
die  in  such  misery ! "  Joshua  whispered  a  word  of 
warning  in  his  ear,  and  reminded  him  again  of  his 
duty  to  his  people.  But  Ephraim  only  begged  to  be 
left  to  rest  in  peace. 

Soon  after,  however,  he  lightly  touched  his  uncle, 
and  asked  in  a  low  voice : 


234  JOSHUA. 

"  "What  are  they  going  to  do  with  Prince  Siptah  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,  nothing  good,  that  is  certain." 

"  And  where  is  Aarsu,  the  Syrian,  the  commander 
of  the  Asiatic  mercenaries,  your  enemy  who  watches 
us  with  such  malignant  zeal  ?  I  did  not  see  him 
with  the  rest." 

"  He  remains  in  Tanis  with  his  troops." 

"  To  guard  the  palace  ?  " 

"  Just  so." 

"  Then  he  is  Captain  over  many,  and  Pharaoh 
trusts  him  ? " 

"  Entirely,  though  he  hardly  deserves  it." 

"  And  he  is  a  Syrian,  and  so  also  of  our  blood  ?  " 

"  At  least  he  is  nearer  to  us  than  the  Egyptians, 
as  you  may  know  by  his  speech  and  his  features." 

"  I  should  have  taken  him  for  a  Hebrew,  and  yet, 
you  say,  he  is  one  of  the  highest  men  in  the  army." 

"  And  other  Syrians  and  Libyans  are  Captains  of 
large  troops  of  mercenaries  ;  and  Ben  Mazana,  the 
herald,  one  of  the  greatest  men  about  the  Court, 
whom  the  Egyptians  have  named  '  Rameses  in  the 
Sanctuary  of  Ra,'  is  the  son  of  a  Hebrew  father." 

"  And  he  and  the  others  are  not  looked  down  upon 
by  reason  of  their  birth  ? " 

"  It  would  scarcely  be  true  to  say  so  much  as  that. 
But  what  is  the  aim  of  all  your  questions  ? " 

"  I  could  not  sleep." 

"  And  such  thoughts  as  these  came  into  your 
head  ?  Nay,  you  have  something  definite  in  your 
mind,  and  if  I  guess  it  rightly  I  am  sorry.  You 
wish  to  enter  Pharaoh's  service." 


JOSHUA.  235 

After  this  there  was  a  long  silence  between  the 
two ;  then  Ephraim  spoke  again,  and  although  he 
addressed  Joshua,  he  spoke  rather  as  if  to  himself : 

"  They  will  destroy  all  our  nation,  and  those  who 
escape  will  fall  into  slavery  and  disgrace.  By  this 
time  my  house  is  doomed  to  destruction,  not  a  head 
of  my  great  herds  will  be  left  to  me,  and  the  gold 
and  silver  I  have  inherited,  and  which  is  said  to  be  a 
great  sum,  they  will  carry  away  with  them ;  for  it 
is  in  your  father's  keeping,  and  must  fall  a  booty 
into  the  hands  of  the  Egyptians.  And  shall  I,  now 
that  I  am  free,  go  back  to  my  people,  and  make 
bricks  ?  Shall  I  bow  my  back  to  be  flogged  and  ill- 
treated  ? " 

Here  Joshua  exclaimed  in  an  eager  whisper : 

"  Call  rather  on  the  God  of  our  fathers  to  protect 
and  deliver  His  people ;  and  if  the  Most  High  hath 
determined  on  the  destruction  of  our  nation,  then  be 
a  man,  and  learn  to  hate  with  all  the  might  of  your 
young  soul  those  who  have  trodden  them  under  foot. 
Flee  to  the  Syrians,  and  offer  them  the  strength  of 
your  young  arm ;  give  yourself  no  rest  till  you  have 
taken  revenge  on  those  who  have  shed  the  blood  of 
the  Israelites,  and  cast  you  innocent  into  bondage." 

Then  again  there  was  silence,  and  nothing  Avas  to 
be  heard  from  where  Ephraim  lay  but  low  moans 
from  an  oppressed  heart.  At  length,  however, 
Joshua  heard  him  murmur : 

"  We  are  no  longer  weighed  down  by  chains,  and 
could  I  hate  her  who  procured  our  release  ? " 

"  Be  grateful  to  Kasana,  but  hate  her  people,"  he 


236  JOSHUA. 

whispered  in  reply.  And  he  heard  the  lad  turn 
over  in  his  trough,  and  again  he  sighed  and  groaned. 

It  was  past  midnight ;  the  growing  moon  stood  high 
in  the  sky,  and  Joshua,  still  sleepless,  did  not  cease  to 
listen  to  his  young  companion  ;  but  Ephraim  spoke 
not.  Still,  sleep  shunned  him  likewise,  for  Joshua 
heard  him  grinding  his  teeth — or  was  it  that  some 
mice  had  wandered  out  to  this  parched  spot  covered 
with  dry  brown  grass,  between  salt  plains  on  one  side 
and  bare  sands  on  the  other  and  were  gnawing  the 
prisoners'  hard  bread  ?  This  grinding  and  gnawing 
must  disturb  the  sleep  even  of  those  who  most  de- 
sired it,  and  Joshua  on  the  contrary  wished  to  keep 
awake  that  he  might  open  the  eyes  of  his  blinded 
nephew.  But  he  Avaited  in  vain  for  any  sign  of  life 
on  Ephraim's  part. 

At  last  he  was  about  to  lay  his  hand  on  the  boy's 
shoulder,  but  he  paused  as  he  saw  in  the  moonlight 
that  Ephraim  was  holding  up  his  arm,  although  be- 
fore he  lay  down  his  wrists  had  been  tied  more 
tightly  than  before.  Joshua  now  understood  that 
the  noise  which  had  puzzled  him  was  the  gnawing  of 
the  lad's  sharp  teeth  as  he  worked  at  the  knot  of  the 
cords  ;  so  he  sat  up  and  looked  first  at  the  sky  and 
then  round  about  him.  He  held  his  breath  as  he 
watched  the  young  fellow,  and  his  heart  throbbed 
painfully — Ephraim  meant  to  escape ;  he  had  even 
achieved  the  first  step  towards  freedom.  He  hoped 
that  good  fortune  might  follow  him,  but  dreaded 
lest  the  fugitive  might  set  forth  in  the  wrong  direc- 
tion. This  boy  was  the  only  child  of  his  sister,  a 


JOSHUA.  237 

fatherless  and  motherless  orphan,  so  he  had  never 
had  the  advantage  of  those  numberless  lessons  and 
hints  which  only  a  mother  can  give,  and  which  a 
proud  young  spirit  will  take  from  none  else.  Stran- 
gers' hands  had  trained  the  young  tree,  and  it  had 
grown  straight  enough ;  but  a  mother's  love  would 
have  graced  it  with  carefully  selected  grafts.  He  had 
not  grown  up  on  his  parents'  hearth,  and  that  alone 
is  the  right  home  for  the  young.  What  wonder, 
then,  that  he  felt  a  stranger  among  his  own  people  ? 

At  such  tnoughts  as  these  great  pity  came  upon 
Joshua,  and  with  it  a  consciousness  of  being  deeply 
guilty  in  regard  to  this  gifted  youth  who  had  fallen 
into  captivity  for  his  sake  when  bearing  a  message 
to  him.  Still,  strongly  as  he  felt  prompted  to  warn 
him  yet  once  more  against  treachery  and  faithless- 
ness, he  would  not  do  so  for  fear  of  imperilling  his 
enterprise.  The  least  sound  might  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  men  on  watch,  and  he  was  now  as  much 
interested  in  his  attempt  for  liberty  as  though 
Ephraim  were  making  it  by  his  instigation.  So  in- 
stead of  tormenting  him  with  useless  admonitions 
he  kept  his  eyes  and  ears  open ;  his  knowledge  of 
life  had  taught  him  that  good  advice  is  oftener 
neglected  than  followed,  and  that  personal  experience 
is  the  only  infallible  master. 

Yery  soon  his  practised  eye  discerned  the  path  by 
which  Ephraim  might  escape  if  only  fortune  favored 
him.  He  gently  spoke  his  name,  and  then  his 
nephew  softly  replied :  "  Uncle,  I  can  untie  the  cord 
if  you  put  out  your  hands  ;  mine  are  free," 


238  JOSHUA. 

At  this  Joshua's  anxious  face  grew  brighter. 
This  bold-spirited  youth  was  a  good  fellow  at  heart ; 
he  was  ready  to  risk  his  own  success  for  the  sake  of 
an  older  man  who,  if  he  escaped  with  him,  might 
only  too  probably  hinder  him  in  the  path  which,  in 
his  youthful  illusion,  he  hoped  might  lead  him  to 
fortune. 


JOSHUA.  239 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

JOSHUA  looked  cautiously  about  him.  The  sky 
was  still  clear,  though,  if  this  north  wind  should  hold, 
the  clouds  which  seemed  to  be  coming  up  from  the 
sea,  would  soon  overcast  it. 

The  air  was  sultry,  but  the  men  on  watch  kept 
their  eyes  open  and  relieved  each  other  at  regular 
intervals.  Their  vigilance  would  be  hard  to  evade  ; 
but  close  to  the  trough  which  formed  Ephraim's  bed, 
and  which  his  uncle,  for  their  greater  comfort,  had 
dug  by  the  side  of  his  own  on  the  gentle  slope  of  a 
mound,  a  narrow  rift  widened  to  a  ravine,  its  edge 
gleaming  in  the  moonlight  with  veins  of  white 
gypsum  and  sparkling  ores.  If  the  supple  lad  could 
but  slip  unseen  into  this  hollow,  and  creep  along  it 
as  far  as  the  shores  of  yonder  salt-lake,  overgrown 
with  tall  mares-tail  and  a  thicket  of  desert  shrubs, 
under  cover  of  the  gathering  clouds  he  might  succeed 
in  his  attempt. 

Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  Joshua  next  con- 
sidered as  calmly  as  though  he  were  deciding  on  a 
route  for  his  troops,  whether,  if  he  had  the  use  of 
his  hands,  he  might  be  able  to  follow  Ephraim  with- 
out imperilling  the  boy's  escape.  But  to  this  he 
-could  only  find  a  negative  ;  for  one  of  the  watch 


240  JOSHUA. 

was  close  at  hand,  sitting  or  standing  on  a  higher 
point  of  the  hillock,  and  in  the  bright  moonlight  he 
could  not  fail  to  see  every  movement  if  the  lad  un- 
tied his  bonds.  Moreover  the  clouds  might  perhaps 
have  covered  the  moon  before  this  was  accomplished, 
and  then  Ephraim  might  let  slip  the  one  favorable 
moment  which  promised  him  release,  and  be  led  into 
danger  on  his  account.  He  was  this  boy's  natural 
protector,  and  would  it  not  be  base  indeed  to  bar 
his  way  to  freedom  for  the  sake  of  a  doubtful  pros- 
pect of  escape  for  himself  ? 

So  he  whispered  to  Ephraim  :- 

"  I  cannot  go  with  you.  Glide  along  the  rift  to 
the  right,  down  to  the  Salt  Lake.  I  will  keep  an 
eye  on  the  guards.  As  soon  as  the  clouds  hide  the 
moon  and  I  cough,  creep  away.  If  you  succeed,  fly 
to  your  people.  Greet  my  old  father  from  me, 
assure  him  of  my  love  and  truth,  and  tell  him  whither 
I  am  being  taken.  Listen  to  his  and  Miriam's  coun- 
sel ;  it  will  be  good.  Now  the  clouds  are  gathering 
about  the  moon — not  another  word." 

Ephraim  persisted  in  imploring  him,  in  the  softest 
whisper,  to  put  forth  his  hands,  but  he  only  bid  him 
be  silent ;  and  as  soon  as  the  moon  was  shrouded, 
and  the  watch  who  was  pacing  to  and  fro  just  above 
them  had  begun  a  conversation  with  the  man  who 
came  to  relieve  him,  Joshua  coughed  gently,  and 
then  listened  in  the  darkness  with  a  throbbing  heart 
and  bated  breath. 

First  he  heard  a  slight  rustle,  and  by  the  flare  of 
the  fire  on  the  top  of  the  slope,  which  the  drivers 


JOSHUA.  241 

now  mended  to  keep  off  wild  beasts,  he  saw  that 
Ephraim's  bed  was  deserted. 

At  this  he  breathed  more  easily,  for  the  ravine 
must  by  this  time  hide  the  boy,  and  when  he  listened 
more  sharply  than  before  to  catch  a  sound  of  creep- 
ing or  slipping,  he  could  hear  nothing  but  the  guards 
talking  and  their  heavy  footsteps. 

Their  voices  reached  his  ear,  but  not  the  words 
they  spoke,  so  eagerly  was  he  bent  on  following  the 
youth  in  his  flight.  How  agile  and  how  cautious 
the  fugitive  must  be  in  his  movements !  He  must 
still  be  in  the  ravine.  The  moon  seemed  to  be  strug- 
gling with  the  clouds,  till  for  a  moment  the  silver 
disk  victoriously  rent  the  heavy  black  curtain  which 
hid  it  from  the  eyes  of  men,  and  the  long  bright 
shaft  of  light  was  mirrored  in  the  motionless  waters 
of  the  Salt  Lake  ;  Joshua  could  see  everything  that 
lay  below  him,  but  he  detected  nothing  which  bore 
any  resemblance  to  a  human  figure. 

Had  the  lad  met  with  some  obstacle  in  the  dell  ? 
Was  he  checked  by  a  cliff  or  a  gulf  in  its  gloomy 
depths  ?  or — and  at  this  thought  his  heart  seemed  to 
stand  still — had  the  abyss  swallowed  him  up  as  he 
felt  his  way  in  the  darkness  ?  Now  he  longed  to 
hear  a  sound — the  very  faintest,  from  the  depths  of 
the  ravine.  This  stillness  was  fearful ! 

Ah !  sooner  silence  than  this !  A  clatter  of  falling 
stones  and  slipping  earth  came  up,  too  loud  now, 
through  the  still  night.  The  moon  too  again  peeped 
out  from  its  veil  of  clouds,  and  Hosea  saw,  down  by 

the  pool,  a  living  form  which  seemed  that  of  a  beast 
16 


242  JOSHUA. 

rather  than  of  a  man,  for  it  went  along  on  all  fours. 
And  now  the  water  splashed  up  in  glittering  drops. 
The  creature,  whatever  it  was,  had  plunged  into  the 
lake.  And  again  the  clouds  hid  the  moon  and  all 
was  dark.  Hosea  breathed  more  freely,  saying  to 
himself  that  it  was  Ephraim  whom  he  had  seen,  and 
that  the  fugitive,  come  what  might,  had  gained  a 
good  start  on  his  pursuers. 

But  the  men  were  not  sleeping  nor  deceived  ;  for, 
although  he  cried  out,  in  order  to  mislead  them,  "  A 
Jackal ! "  a  shrill  whistle  rang  out,  awaking  all  the 
sleepers.  In  a  moment  the  driver  of  the  gang  was 
standing  over  him,  a  burning  torch  in  his  hand,  and 
he  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  when  he  saw  this  prisoner 
safe.  It  was  not  for  nothing  that  he  had  tied  him 
with  double  cords,  for  he  would  have  been  made  to 
pay  for  it  dearly  if  this  man  had  escaped  him. 

But,  while  the  driver  was  feeling  the  rope  that 
bound  the  Hebrew's  wrists,  the  flare  of  the  torch  he 
held  fell  on  the  fugitive's  empty  resting-place.  The 
cords  he  had  bitten  through  lay  there  yet,  as  if  in 
mockery.  The  driver  picked  them  up,  cast  them  at 
Ilosea's  feet,  whistled  loudly  again  and  again,  and 
shouted : 

"  Gone.     Flown !  the  Hebrew  !  the  young  one !  " 

And  troubling  himself  no  further  about  the  elder 
prisoner,  he  at  once  began  the  search. 

Hoarse  with  rage,  he  gave  his  orders  rapidly ; 
all  were  clear,  and  all  were  forthwith  obeyed. 

While  some  of  his  men  collected  the  gang,  counted 
them  over,  and  bound  them  together  with  cords,  the 


JOSHUA.  243 

leader,  with  the  rest,  and  helped  by  dogs,  sought 
some  trace  of  the  fugitive. 

Joshua  saw  him  bring  the  beasts  to  sniff  at  the 
cords  Ephraim  had  gnawed  through,  and  the  place 
where  he  had  lain,  and  then  they  started  direct  for 
the  ravine.  He  breathed  hard  as  he  perceived  that 
they  lingered  there  some  little  time,  and  at  last,  just 
as  the  moon  again  came  through  the  clouds,  emerged 
on  the  shore  and  rushed  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
He  was  glad  that  Ephraim  had  waded  through  it 
instead  of  running  round  it,  for  the  dogs  here  lost 
the  scent,  and  many  minutes  slipped  by  while  the 
guards  and  the  dogs,  who  poked  their  noses  into 
every  footprint  left  by  the  runaway,  made  their  way 
round  the  shore  to  find  the  trace  again.  Then  their 
loud  tongue  told  him  that  they  had  recovered  the 
scent.  But  even  if  they  should  track  and  run  down 
the  fugitive,  the  fettered  warrior  did  not  now  fear 
the  worst,  for  Ephraim  had  a  long  start  of  his  pur- 
suers ;  still  his  heart  beat  fast,  and  time  seemed  to 
stand  still  till  the  driver  came  back  again  exhausted 
and  unsuccessful.  But  though  he,  a  man  of  middle 
age,  could  never  have  overtaken  Ephraim,  the  two 
youngest  and  swiftest  of  his  men  had  been  sent  after 
him,  as  he  himself  announced  with  scornful  fury. 

The  man,  before  so  good-natured,  was  entirely 
changed  ;  for  he  felt  the  lad's  escape  as  a  disgrace 
he  could  hardly  get  over,  nay,  as  a  positive  mis- 
fortune. 

And  the  wretch  who  had  tried  to  mislead  him  by 
crying  out  "  A  Jackal,"  was  the  fugitive's  accom- 


244  JOSHUA. 

plice.  Loudly  did  he  curse  Prince  Siptah  who  had 
interfered  in  the  duties  of  his  place.  But  it  should 
not  happen  again,  and  he  would  make  his  victims 
suffer  for  his  misfortune !  The  prisoners  were  im- 
mediately loaded  with  chains  again.  Hosea  was 
coupled  with  an  asthmatic  old  man,  and  the  whole 
gang  were  made  to  stand  in  a  row  where  the  fire- 
light felt  on  them,  till  daybreak ;  Hosea  could  make 
no  reply  to  the  questions  put  to  him  by  his  new 
companion  in  bonds  ;  he  awaited  in  painful  suspense 
the  return  of  the  pursuers.  Meanwhile  he  strove  to 
control  his  thoughts  to  prayer,  beseeching  the  Lord, 
who  had  promised  to  be  his  Helper,  on  his  own  be- 
half and  on  that  of  his  nephew.  Often  enough,  to  be 
sure,  he  was  interrupted  by  the  driver,  who  vented 
his  wrath  on  him. 

However,  the  Hebrew  who  had  in  his  day  been 
captain  of  a  host,  submitted  to  everything,  and  com- 
manded himself  to  endure  whatever  came,  like  the 
inevitable  discomfort  of  rain  or  hail;  nay,  it  cost 
him  some  little  effort  to  conceal  his  gladness  when 
the  young  runners  who  had  been  after  Ephraim 
came  in  after  sunrise,  breathless  and  with  disordered 
hair,  bringing  with  them  nothing  but  a  dog  with  a 
broken  skull. 

The  driver  could  therefore  do  no  more  than  report 
what  had  happened  to  the  soldiers  in  the  first  fort 
on  the  Etham  frontier,  which  the  prison  gang  must 
now  cross ;  and  to  this  point  the  file  of  men  were 
now  led. 

Since  Ephraim's  flight  all  the  men  on  guard  had 


JOSHUA.  245 

changed  their  tone  for  a  harder  one.  Yesterday  the 
unhappy  wretches  had  been  allowed  to  proceed  at 
an  easy  pace ;  now  they  were  hurried  on  as  fast  as 
possible.  The  day  was  sultry,  and  the  scorching 
sun  struggled  with  the  storm-clouds,  which  were 
gathering  in  the'  north  into  dense  masses.  Hosea's 
frame,  inured  to  every  kind  of  fatigue,  could  resist 
the  severity  of  this  forced  march,  but  his  more 
feeble  companion,  who  had  grown  gray  as  a  scribe, 
often  stumbled,  and  at  length  lay  where  he  fell. 
At  this  the  driver  saw  the  necessity  of  placing  the 
sufferer  on  an  ass,  and  fettering  Joshua  to  another 
companion.  This  was  the  first  man's  brother,  an 
overseer  of  the  King's  stables,  a  well-grown  Egyp- 
tian who  was  going  to  the  mines  for  no  other  cause 
than  that  it  was  his  misfortune  to  be  the  brother  of 
a  State  criminal.  Linked  to  this  sturdy  mate,  walk- 
ing was  easier,  and  Joshua  listened  to  him  with 
sincere  sympathy,  and  tried  to  cheer  him  when,  in 
a  low  voice,  he  confided  to  him  all  his  woes,  lament- 
ing sadly  that  he  had  left  a  wife  and  child  at  home 
in  want  and  misery.  Two  of  his  children  had  died 
of  the  pestilence,  and  it  weighed  on  his  heart  that 
he  had  been  prevented  from  caring  for  their  burial, 
for  thus  the  two  beings  he  had  loved  were  lost  to 
him.  forever,  even  in  the  other  world. 

At  their  second  resting-place  the  bereaved  father 
spoke  more  freely.  His  soul  was  consumed  by  thirst 
for  revenge,  and  he  took  it  for  granted  that  his 
companion  felt  the  same,  seeing  that  he  had  fallen 
into  disgrace  from  a  high  office.  The  overseer  of 


246  JOSHUA. 

the  stables  had  a  sister-in-law  who  was  one  of  the 
ladies  about  Pharaoh's  Court,  and  through  her  and 
her  sister,  his  wife,  he  had  been  informed  that  a  con- 
spiracy against  the  King  was  being  hatched  in  the 
women's  house.*  Aye,  and  he  knew  too  who  it 
was  that  the  women  purposed  to  set  in  Menephtah's 
place. 

As  Joshua  looked  at  him  with  an  inquiring  and 
doubtful  gaze  his  comrade  whispered  : 

"  Siptah,  the  King's  nephew,  and  his  noble  mother 
are  at  the  head  of  the  plot.  If  only  I  get  free  I 
will  bear  you  in  mind  ;  and  my  sister-in-law  is  sure 
not  to  forget  me." 

He  then  desired  to  know  what  had  brought  the 
Hebrew  to  the  mines,  and  Joshua  frankly  told  him 
who  he  was.  When  the  Egyptian  heard  that  he 
was  linked  together  with  an  Hebrew  he  tore  madly 
at  his  chains,  and  cursed  his  fate ;  however,  his 
wrath  presently  died  out  before  the  amazing  cool- 
ness with  which  Joshua  endured  the  hardest  things, 
and  to  Joshua  himself  it  was  a  relief  that  his  partner 
besieged  his  ear  less  often  with  [complaints  and 
questions. 

For  whole  hours  he  could  walk  on  unmolested, 
and  give  himself  up  wholly  to  his  longing,  to  collect 
ing  his  thoughts,  to  giving  himself  a  clear  account 
of  the  terrible  experiences  which  his  soul  had  gone 
through  in  the  last  few  days,  and  to  making  up  his 
mind  to  his  new  and  dreadful  situation. 

*  The  house  of  the  secluded  ones  ;  equivalent  to  the  harem 
of  the  modern  Moslem  Egyptian. 


JOSHUA.  247 

This  silent  meditation  and  introspection  did  him. 
good ;  and  when  they  again  stopped  for  the  night, 
he  enjoyed  deep  and  refreshing  sleep. 

When  he  awoke  the  stars  were  still  bright  in  the 
western  sky,  reminding  him  of  the  sycamore  at 
Succoth,  and  the  all-important  morning  when  his 
beloved  had  won  him  over  to  serve  her  God.  Above 
him  spread  the  sparkling  firmament,  and  for  the 
first  time  he  was  conscious  of  a  budding  hope  that 
the  Almighty  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  might 
find  some  way  and  means  of  saving  the  people  He 
had  called  His  own  from  the  overwhelming  host  of 
the  Egyptians. 

When  he  had  thus  fervently  besought  the  Lord 
to  spread  His  protecting  hand  over  the  feeble  tribes 
who,  in  obedience  to  His  Word,  had  left  so  much 
behind  them,  and  had  so  confidently  set  forth  for 
the  remote  unknown,  he  commended  his  old  father, 
whom  he  himself  could  not  defend,  to  His  especial 
care,  and  his  soul  was  filled  with  wondrous  peace. 

The  shouts  of  the  men  on  guard,  the  rattle  of 
fetters,  his  wretched  fellow-victims,  everything  about 
him  kept  him  in  mind  of  the  fate  before  him.  He 
must  henceforth  toil  day  and  night  in  abject  slavery, 
in  a  sweltering,  choking  cavern,  bereft  of  the  joy  of 
breathing  the  fresh  air  of  heaven,  or  of  seeing  the 
sunshine ;  loaded  with  chains,  flogged  and  reviled, 
starving  and  athirst,  in  a  gloomy  monotony  of 
misery,  agonizing  alike  to  body  and  soul ;  and  yet 
not  for  a  moment  did  he  lose  his  confident  trust 
that  this  fearful  fate  was  intended  for  any  other 


248  JOSHUA. 

rather  than  him,  and  that  something  would  intervene 
to  preserve  him  from  it. 

On  their  further  march  eastward  which  began  at 
dawn,  he  could  only  think  of  this  confidence  as 
folly  ;  still  he  strove  to  cling  fast  to  it,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded. 

Their  way  lay  across  the  desert,  and  after  a  few 
hours'  brisk  march  they  reached  the  first  fort  called 
"  Seti's  Stronghold."  In  the  clear  air  of  the  desert 
they  had  seen  it  for  a  long  time,  looking  as  though 
they  could  shoot  an  arrow  into  it.  It  stood  up  from 
the  bare  stony  soil,  ungraced  by  a  palm  or  a  shrub, 
with  its  wooden  stockade,  its  ramparts,  its  scarped 
walls,  its  watch-tower  looking  westward,  with  a  broad 
flat  roof  swarming  with  men-at-arms.  The  garrison 
had  been  warned  from  Pithom  that  the  Hebrews 
were  preparing  to  break  through  the  srontier-lines 
on  the  Isthmus,  and  the  gang  of  prisoners  with  their 
guard  had  been  taken,  from  a  distance,  for  the  van 
of  the  emigrant  Israelites. 

From  the  top  of  the  huge  crown-work  which  pro- 
jected like  a  balcony  from  all  sides  of  the  scarped 
walls  to  prevent  the  use  of  scaling-ladders,  soldiers 
were  spying  out  between  the  battlements  at  the 
approaching  party;  but  the  archers  had  replaced 
their  arrows  in  the  quivers,  for  it  had  at  once  been 
perceived  that  the  troop  was  a  small  one,  and  a 
runner  had  delivered  the  pass  from  the  military 
authorities,  desiring  the  captain  of  the  garrison  to 
permit  the  file  of  prisoners  to  cross  the  frontier. 
The  door  in  the  palisade  was  thrown  open  to  them, 


JOSHUA.  249 

and  the  driver  gave  them  leave  to  stretch  their  * 
limbs  awhile  on  the  hot  pavement  within.  From 
hence  none  could  escape,  even  if  the  guard  left  them 
to  themselves  ;  for  the  fence  was  too  high  to  climb, 
and  arrows  shot  from  the  roof  of  the  building  or 
from  the  loopholes  of  the  .projecting  battlements 
would  overtake  the  runaway. 

It  did  not  escape  the  warrior's  eye  that  everything 
here  was  in  a  state  of  preparation  for  resistance,  as 
though  it  were  war  time.  Every  man  was  at  his 
post,  and  guards  stood  by  the  great  metal  gongs  on 
the  roof,  with  heavy  mallets  in  their  hands  to  beat 
an  alarm  at  the  approach  of  the  expected  foe  ;  for 
though  there  was  not  a  tree  or  a  house  to  be  seen 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  sound  would  ring 
out  to  the  next  fort  on  the  frontier  line,  and  warn 
the  garrison,  or  bring  them  to  the  rescue.  It  was 
not  indeed  a  punishment,  but  a  piece  of  ill-fortune  to 
be  quartered  in  these  isolated  desert  stations,  and  the 
chiefs  of  Pharaoh's  army  took  care  that  the  same 
companies  did  not  remain  too  long  at  a  time  in  this 
wilderness. 

Joshua  himself  had  in  former  years  commanded 
the  most  southerly  of  these  strongholds,  known  as 
Migdol  of  the  South ;  for  the  name  of  Migdol  was 
common  to  them  all,  meaning  in  the  Semitic  tongue 
a  fortress-tower. 

Here  his  people  were  evidently  still  expected  ;  nor 
could  he  for  a  moment  think  that  Moses  would  have 
led  them  back  into  Egypt.  Either  they  had  linger- 
ed in  Succoth,  or  they  had  marched  southwards ;  but 


250  JOSHUA. 

to  the  south  lay  the  Bitter  lakes  and  the  Red  Sea,  and 
how  should  the  Hebrew  multitude  cross  those  deep 
waters  ?  Hosea's  heart  beat  anxiously  as  he  reflect- 
ed on  this,  and  his  fears  were  presently  confirmed, 
for  he  heard  the  Captain  of  the  fortress  telling  the 
driver  of  the  gang  that  the  Hebrews  had  come,  some 
days  since,  very  near  the  frontier  line  of  defence,  and 
then  had  turned  off  to  the  southward.  Since  then 
it  would  seem  that  they  had  been  wandering  in  the 
desert  between  Pithom  and  the  Red  Sea.  All  this 
had  forthwith  been  reported  at  Tanis,  but  the  King 
had  been  obliged  to  postpone  the  departure  of  the 
Army  till  after  the  first  seven  days  of  mourning  for 
the  heir  to  the  throne.  This  delay  might  have  given 
the  Israelites  an  immense  advantage ;  but  a  message 
had  to-day  come  by  a  carrier  pigeon,  announcing 
that  the  foolish  multitude  were  encamped  at  Pihahi- 
roth,  not  far  from  the  Red  Sea,  so  that  it  would  be 
an  easy  task  for  the  army  to  drive  them  into  the 
waters  like  a  herd  of  cattle,  for  there  was  no  escape 
in  any  other  direction. 

The  driver  had  listened  to  this  report  with  much 
satisfaction,  and  he  whispered  a  few  words  to  the 
Captain,  pointing  at  Joshua,  who,  for  his  part,  had 
already  recognized  the  officer  as  a  companion  in 
arms  who  had  served  under  him  as  a  centurion,  and 
to  whom  he  had  shown  much  kindness.  It  was  pain- 
ful to  him  to  reveal  himself  in  this  miserable  plight 
to  one  who  had  been  his  subaltern,  and  who  owed 
him  a  debt  of  obligation,  and  as  he  looked  at  him  the 
Captain  colored,  shrugging  his  shoulders  express- 


JOSHUA.  251 

ively,  as  if  to  convey  to  Hosea  his  pity  for  his  ill- 
fortune  and  the  impossibility  of  doing  anything  to 
amend  it.  Then  he  said  in  a  voice  so  loud  that  the 
Hebrew  must  hear  him  :  "  I  am  forbidden  by  the 
rules  to  speak  with  your  prisoners,  but  I  knew  that 
man  in  better  days,  and  I  will  send  you  out  some 
wine  which  I  beg  you  will  share  with  him." 

Then  they  presently  went  towards  the  gateway, 
the  driver  remarking  that  Hosea  was  less  deserving 
of  such  favor  than  other  and  weaker  men,  inasmuch 
as  he  had  assisted  the  runaway  of  whom  he  had 
spoken,  to  make  his  escape.  The  Captain  pushed 
his  fingers  through  his  hair  and  replied :  "  I  could 
have  wished  to  show  him  some  kindness,  though  in- 
deed he  owes  me  much  already.  But  if  that  is  the 
case  I  had  better  keep  my  wine. — And  you  have 
rested  quite  long  enough  here !  " 

So  the  driver  wrathfully  roused  his  hapless  gang 
to  proceed  on  their  way  across  the  desert  and  on- 
ward to  the  mines. 

Joshua  now  walked  with  a  bowed  head.  His  spirit 
rebelled  against  the  ill  fortune  which  had  led  him  to 
this  pass,  dragged  across  the  desert,  far  from  his 
people  and  from  his  father,  who  must  be  in  great 
danger,  at  this  decisive  and  fateful  crisis.  Under 
his  guidance  the  Hebrews  might  perhaps  have  found 
a  way  of  escape  !  He  clenched  his  fists  at  the  thought 
that  his  chains  forbid  his  carrying  out  the  means  he 
could  devise  of  helping  his  people ;  and  yet  he  would 
not  lose  heart,  and  each  time  that  his  reason  told 
him  that  the  Hebrews  were  lost,  that  they  must  per- 


252  JOSHUA. 

ish  in  this  contest,  his  own  name — the  new  name  be- 
stowed on  him  by  God — sounded  in  his  ears,  and  his 
hatred  and  scorn  for  everything  Egyptian,  fanned 
into  life  by  the  young  officer's  base  conduct,  flamed 
up  afresh. 

His  whole  nature  was  in  violent  revolt,  and  as 
the  driver  marked  his  burning  cheeks  and  the  lurid 
light  in  his  eye,  he  thought  that  even  this  strong 
fellow  had  become  a  prey  to  the  fever  to  which  so 
many  prisoners  fell  victims  on  their  way. 

When  at  sundown,  the  melancholy  train  encamped 
for  the  night  in  the  heart  of  the  desert,  Joshua's 
spirit  still  seethed  and  surged  within  him  ;  and  the 
scene  around  him  matched  well  with  the  tumult  in 
his  soul.  Again  the  black  clouds  came  up  from  the 
sea  on  the  North  wind,  which  howled  and  shrieked 
and  whirled  clouds  of  burning  sand  over  the  prison- 
ers as  they  lay,  till  the  lightning  and  thunder  broke 
over  them  with  a  deluge  of  rain.  A  thick  layer  of 
sand  for  their  coverlet,  pools  and  rivulets  were  now 
their  bed.  Their  keepers  had  bound  them  together 
by  the  arms  and  legs,  and  as  they  stood,  shivering 
and  dripping,  they  still  held  the  ends  of  the  ropes ; 
for  the  night  was  as  black  as  the  fuel  of  the  fires 
which  the  storm  had  extinguished,  and  who  could 
have  followed  a  runaway  through  such  darkness 
and  such  weather  ? 

But  Hosea  had  no  thoughts  of  flight.  "While  the 
Egyptians  whimpered  and  quaked,  believing  that 
they  heard  the  angry  voice  of  Set  in  the  thunder, 
and  while  blinding  sheets  of  flame  flared  among  the 


JOSHUA.  253 

clouds,  he  felt  the  near  presence  of  that  jealous  God 
whose  rage  he  shared,  whose  hatred  was  as  his  own. 
Here  he  stood,  the  witness  of  His  All-destroying 
power,  and  his  breast  swelled  with  pride  as  he  said 
to  himself  that  he  had  been  called  to  wield  the  sword 
of  the  Lord  of  Lords. 


254  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  storm  which  had  risen  at  nightfall  was  still 
sweeping  over  the  peninsula,  High  waves  beat  in 
the  central  lakes,  and  the  Red  Sea,  which  formed 
two  deep  creeks  from  the  south,  like  the  horns  of  a 
snail,  was  tossing  wildly.  Further  north  too,  where 
Pharaoh's  army  had  just  encamped  under  shelter  of 
the  southern  Migdol,  the  strongest  of  the  Etham 
frontier  fortresses,  the  air  was  filled  with  sand  by 
the  storm,  and  in  the  quarters  of  the  King  and  his 
nobles,  hammers  were  kept  constantly  at  work,  driv- 
ing the  tent  pegs  deeper  into  the  ground  ;  for  the 
brocade,  cloth,  and  linen,  of  which  Pharaoh's  wan- 
dering shelter  and  its  surroundings  were  formed, 
were  so  wrenched  by  the  wind  that  they  threatened 
to  pull  up  the  poles  which  supported  them. 

Black  clouds  hung  in  the  north,  yet  the  moon 
and  stars  were  often  visible,  and  distant  lightning 
frequently  illuminated  the  darkness.  But  the  dews 
of  heaven  still  seemed  to  shun  this  rainless  tract  of 
land,  and  in  every  direction  fires  were  burning,  round 
which  thick  circles  of  soldiers  were  gathered  and, 
like  a  living  screen  from  the  storm,  crowded  together 
for  protection  against  being  blown  away. 

The  men   on  watch  had  trying  work,  for  in  spite 


JOSHUA.  255 

of  the  north  wind  the  air  was  stifling,  and  contin- 
ually blew  gusts  of  sand  full  in  their  faces. 

At  the  most  northern  gate  of  the  camp  only  two 
sentries  walked  to  and  fro,  keeping  a  sharp  look 
out ;  but  they  were  sufficient,  for  in  consequence  of 
the  bad  weather  it  was  a  long  time  since  any  one 
had  appeared  to  demand  either  admission  or  exit. 
At  last,  three  hours  after  sunset,  a  slender  lad,  half 
boy,  half  youth,  appeared.  He  went  with  steady 
step  up  to  the  watch  and  showing  him  a  messenger's 
token,  asked  the  way  to  Prince  Siptah's  tent.  He 
looked  as  if  he  had  had  a  difficult  journey ;  his  thick 
black  hair  was  dishevelled,  and  his  feet  covered 
with  dust  and  caked  in  mud.  Yet  he  roused  no 
suspicions,  for  his  manner  was  independent  and 
free,  his  messenger's  pass  in  perfect  order,  and  the 
letter  which  he  bore  was  clearly  directed  to  the 
Prince ;  a  scribe  of  the  granary  who  was  sitting  at 
the  next  fire  with  other  officers  and  subalterns,  con- 
firmed the  fact. 

Since  the  youth's  appearance  pleased  most  of 
them,  and  as  he  came  from  Tanis  and  perhaps 
brought  news  he  was  invited  to  take  a  place  at  the 
fire  and  share  their  meal ;  but  he  was  in  haste. 

Thanking  them  he  refused,  answered  their  ques- 
tions shortly  and  quickly,  and  asked  one  of  the 
company  to  be  his  guide.  Immediately  one  of  them 
put  himself  at  his  disposal.  But  he  soon  learned 
that  it  was  not  easy  to  achieve  seeing  a  member  of 
the  Koyal  household  ;  for  the  tents  of  Pharaoh,  his 
relations  and  dignitaries,  stood  apart  in  the  very 


2$6  JOSHUA. 

heart  of  the  camp,  enclosed  by  the  shields  of  the 
heavily  armed  foot  soldiers ;  and  when  he  tried  to 
pass  in  he  was  referred  from  one  to  another,  and 
his  messenger's  token  and  the  Prince's  letter  were 
repeatedly  examined.  His  guide  was  also  dismissed, 
and  in  his  place  an  official  of  high  rank  known  as  "  the 
eye  and  ear  of  the  King  "  came  forward,  and  began 
to  meddle  with  the  seal  of  the  letter.  The  bearer 
very  decidedly  demanded  the  missive  back;  and 
directly  he  had  it  in  his  hand  once  more  he  went 
towards  two  tents  standing  side  by  side  and  shaken 
by  the  wind,  which  were  pointed  out  to  him  as  those 
of  Prince  Siptah  and  Kosana,  Hornecht's  daughter, 
for  whom  he  had  also  inquired.  A  chamberlain 
came  out  of  the  Prince's  tent,  to  whom  he  showed 
the  letter  he  bore,  requesting  him  to  conduct  him  to 
his  lord ;  but  the  official  having  desired  him  to  hand 
the  letter  to  him  instead  of  to  the  Prince,  Ephraim, 
for  he  it  was,  consented  to  do  so  on  condition  of  the 
chamberlain's  forthwith  procuring  him  admission 
to  Kasana's  presence. 

The  steward  seemed  most  anxious  to  get  the  letter 
into  his  own  hands.  After  he  had  examined  Ephraim 
from  top  to  toe,  he  asked  him  whether  Kasana  knew 
him,  and  when  the  other  answered  in  the  affirmative 
and  added  that  he  brought  a  verbal  message  for  her, 
the  Egyptian  smiling  said :  "  Good,  then ;  but  we 
must  protect  our  carpets  from  such  feet,  and  you 
seem  to  me  altogether  exhausted  and  in  need  of 
refreshment.  Follow  me  !  " 

Thereupon  he  led  him  into  a  little  tent,  before 


JOSHUA.  257 

which  an  old  slave,  and  another  who  was  still  almost 
a  child,  sat  by  the  fire  concluding  their  evening  meal 
with  a  bunch  of  garlic. 

On  seeing  their  master  they  sprang  up;  he  or- 
dered the  old  man  to  wash  the  messenger's  feet,  and 
the  young  one  to  fetch,  in  his  name,  meat,  bread  and 
wine  from  the  Prince's  tent.  He  then  took  Ephraim 
into  his  own  tent,  which  was  lighted  by  a  lantern, 
and  asked  him  how  it  was  that  he,  who  looked  so 
little  like  a  serf  or  a  common  fellow,  had  such  a  for- 
lorn appearance.  Then  the  messenger  answered  that 
he  had  on  his  way  bound  up  the  wounds  of  a  severely 
injured  man  with  his  upper  garment,  so  the  steward 
at  once  opened  his  packages  and  handed  him  a  wrap- 
per of  fine  linen. 

Ephraim's  reply,  which  was  very  near  the  truth, 
was  given  with  such  promptness  and  sounded  so 
genuine,  that  it  was  believed ;  and  the  steward's 
kindness  so  overwhelmed  him  with  gratitude  that 
he  raised  no  objection  when,  with  a  practised  hand 
and  without  damaging  the  seal,  he  pressed  the  flex- 
ible roll  of  papyrus,  bent  the  separate  layers  apart, 
and,  peeping  in  to  the  opening  acquainted  himself 
with  the  contents  of  the  letter.  At  the  same  time 
the  burly  courtier's  eyes  glistened  keenly,  and  it 
seemed  to  the  youth  that  the  man's  face,  which  at 
first  had  appeared  to  him  with  its  comfortable  ful- 
ness and  round  smoothness  the  very  mirror  of  good 
nature,  had  become  like  that  of  a  cat. 

As  soon  as  the  Steward  had  finished  this  opera- 
tion he  begged  the  boy  to  rest  himself  thoroughly ; 
17 


2$8  JOSHUA. 

and  he  did  not  return  until  Ephraim  had  bathed,  and 
stood  with  the  new  linen  cloth  round  his  loins,  his 
hair  anointed  and  scented,  looking  in  the  mirror, 
and  in  the  act  of  putting  a  broad  gold  hoop  round 
his  arm. 

He  had  hesitated  for  some  time,  as  he  knew  he 
was  about  to  face  great  dangers ;  this  bracelet  how- 
ever was  his  only  valuable  possession,  and  he  had 
taken  great  trouble  during  his  captivity  to  keep  it 
hidden  in  his  loin  cloth.  It  might  yet  render  him 
good  service,  though  if  he  wore  it  it  would  attract 
attention  to  his  person  and  increase  his  risk  of  be- 
ing recognized.  But  the  image  he  saw  reflected  in 
the  mirror,  his  vanity,  and  the  wish  to  find  favor  in 
Kasana's  eyes,  triumphed  over  prudence,  and  the 
costly  ornament  was  soon  shining  on  his  arm.  The 
chamberlain  gazed  with  amazement  at  the  trans- 
formation of  the  unkempt  messenger  into  a  proud- 
looking  youth  ;  the  question  rose  to  his  lips  whether 
he  were  some  kin  to  Kasana,  and  when  Ephraiam  re- 
plied in  the  negative,  he  asked  to  what  family  he 
belonged. 

At  this  Ephraim  stood  for  some  time  with  down- 
cast eyes  and  besought  the  Egyptian  to  excuse  him 
from  replying  till  he  should  have  spoken  to  Kasana. 
The  other  shook  his  head  doubtingly  as  he  looked 
at  him  ;  but  he  urged  him  no  further,  for  what  he 
had  discovered  from  the  letter  was  a  secret  which 
might  cost  all  who  knew  it  their  life,  and  the  hand- 
some young  bearer  must  surely  be  the  son  of  some 
great  man  implicated  in  the  plot  of  his  master,  Prince 


JOSHUA.  259 

Siptah.  The  stout,  well-fed  courtier  shivered  at  the 
thought,  and  it  was  with  a  sympathetic  qualm  that 
he  looked  at  this  blooming  flower  of  humanity,  so 
young  to  be  mixed  up  in  such  perilous  schemes- 
The  Prince  had  so  far  only  hinted  at  the  secret  to 
him,  so  he  could  still  cut  himself  adrift  from  sharing 
his  master's  destiny.  If  he  parted  from  him,  he 
might  look  forward  to  an  old  age  of  ease ;  but  if  he 
clung  to  him,  and  the  Prince's  plot  should  come  to 
a  good  issue,  to  what  heights  might  he  not  rise! 
How  terribly  important  was  the  choice  which  he, 
the  father  of  a  large  family,  was  called  upon  to  make ; 
the  sweat  stood  on  his  brow,  and  he  was  quite  in- 
capable of  clear  reflection,  as  he  conducted  Ephraim 
to  Kasana's  tent  and  then  hastened  to  his  master's. 

All  was  still  in  the  slight  erection  of  wooden 
poles  and  heavy  bright-colored  stuffs  which  shel- 
tered the  fair  widow.  It  was  with  a  beating  heart 
that  Ephraim  approached  the  entrance ;  and  when 
at  length  he  took  courage  and  pushed  aside  the  cur- 
tain which  was  pegged  to  the  ground,  the  wind  fill- 
ing it  like  a  sail,  he  saw  a  dark  room,  opening  on 
either  hand  into  another.  That  to  the  left  was  as 
dark  as  the  centre  one ;  but  from  the  right,  lights 
gleamed  through  the  seams  in  the  canvas.  The 
tent  was  of  the  long  flat-roofed  shape  in  three  com- 
partments, such  as  he  had  often  seen ;  and  in  the 
room  whence  the  light  proceeded  was  she,  no  doubt, 
to  whom  he  came.  To  avoid  any  further  suspicions 
he  must  overcome  this  timidity,  and  he  had  already 
stooped  to  untie  the  knot  by  which  the  curtain  was 


260  JOSHUA. 

held  to  the  peg  in  the  ground,  when  that  of  the 
lighted  compartment  was  raised  and  a  woman's  figure 
came  into  the  dark  entrance  room. 

Was  it  she?  should  he  venture  to  address  her? 
Yes,  he  must. 

He  clenched  his  hand  tightty,  and  with  a  deep 
breath  collected  his  courage,  as  though  he  were 
about  to  intrude  unbidden  into  the  inner  sanctuary 
of  a  temple.  Then  he  pushed  the  curtain  aside  and 
was  met  with  a  cry  from  the  woman  he  had  before 
observed  ;  and  he  now  recovered  his  courage,  for  it 
was  not  Kasana,  but  the  waiting-woman  who  had 
come  with  her  to  see  the  prisoners,  and  who  had  ac- 
companied her  to  the  camp.  She  recognized  him 
too,  and  stared  at  him  as  though  he  had  risen  from 
the  dead.  They  knew  each  other  well;  for,  the 
first  time  he  had  been  carried  to  Hornecht's  house, 
it  was  she  who  had  prepared  his  bath  and  laid  bal- 
sam on  his  wounds ;  and  on  the  second  occasion 
when  they  had  been  inmates  under  the  same  roof, 
she  and  her  mistress  had  nursed  him.  For  many 
an  hour  had  they  chatted  together,  and  he  knew 
that  she  was  fond  of  him,  for  as  he  lay  half  conscious, 
half  dazed  with  feverish  dreams,  she  would  soothe 
him  with  a  motherly  touch,  and  as  he  grew  stronger, 
was  never  weary  of  questioning  him  about  his  peo- 
ple, telling  him  that  she  herself  was  a  Syrian,  of 
kindred  blood  to  the  Hebrew.  Indeed  his  language 
was  not  altogether  strange  to  her,  for  it  was  as 
a  woman  of  twenty  that  she  had  been  brought  to 
Egypt  with  other  prisoners  by  Kameses  the  Great. 


JOSHUA.  26l 

Ephraim,  she  would  say,  reminded  her  of  her  own 
son  when  he  was  younger.  From  this  woman  he 
had  nothing  to  fear ;  he  seized  her  hand,  and  said  in 
a  low  voice  that  he  had  escaped  from  his  guards, 
and  had  come  to  ask  counsel  of  her  mistress  and  her- 
self. The  word  "  escaped  "  was  enough  to  reassure 
the  old  woman,  for  spirits,  as  she  understood  the 
word,  were  wont  to  put  others  to  flight  but  not  to 
flee.  She  stroked  the  lad's  curls,  and  before  he  had 
finished  speaking  she  had  left  him,  hurrying  off  into 
the  other  room  to  inform  her  mistress  that  he  stood 
without. 

In  a  few  minutes  Ephraim  was  in  the  presence  of 
the  woman  who  had  become  the  guiding  star  and 
warming  sun  of  his  life.  With  flushing  cheeks  he 
gazed  up  at  her  lovely  features,  and  although  it 
stabbed  him  to  the  heart  that,  before  she  even 
vouchsafed  him  a  greeting,  she  inquired  whether, 
Hosea  were  with  him,  he  forgot  that  foolish  pang  as 
he  noted  with  what  kindness  she  looked  at  him. 
And  when  she  asked  the  serving-woman  whether 
she  did  not  think  him  looking  fresh  and  well  and 
grown  more  manly,  he  felt  as  though  he  really  were 
taller  and  bigger,  and  his  heart  beat  higher  than 
ever.  She  insisted  on  knowing  all  that  had  happened 
to  his  uncle,  down  to  the  smallest  detail ;  then,  after 
he  had  done  her  bidding,  and  at  last  indulged  his 
desire  to  speak  of  his  own  fortunes,  she  interrupted 
him  to  consult  with  the  older  woman  as  to  how  he 
might  be  sheltered  from  malignant  eyes  and  fresh 
dangers ;  and  the  means  were  soon  found. 


262  JOSHUA. 

First,  with  Ephraim's  help  the  nurse  closed  the 
front  entrance  to  the  tent,  as  completely  as  possible, 
and  she  then  showed  him  the  dark  room,  into  which 
he  was  to  vanish  quickly  and  noiselessly  whenever 
she  should  give  him  a  signal. 

Kasana  meanwhile  had  poured  out  a  cup  of  wine 
for  the  returned  wanderer,  and  when  he  came  in 
again  with  the  old  woman,  she  bid  him  lie  down  on 
the  giraffe-skin  at  her  feet,  and  asked  him  how  he 
had  got  past  the  men  on  guard,  and  what  he  looked 
to  do  in  the  future.  She  must  tell  him  in  the  first 
instance,  that  her  father  had  remained  at  Tanis, 
so  he  need  have  no  fear  of  being  recognized  and 
betrayed  by  Hornecht.  It  was  easy  enough  to  see 
and  hear  how  glad  she  was  at  this  meeting ;  nay, 
when  Ephraim  told  her  that  it  was  in  consequence 
of  Prince  Siptah's  orders  that  the  prisoners  should 
be  unfettered — which  they  owed  solely  to  her — that 
he  had  been  able  to  make  good  his  escape,  she  clapped 
her  hands  like  a  child.  But  then  her  brow  darkened, 
aud  she  added  with  a  sigh,  that  her  heart  had  been 
breaking  with  anxiety  and  fears ;  but  that  now 
Hosea  should  see  how  much  a  woman  could  sacrifice 
to  attain  the  dearest  wish  of  her  heart.  Ephraim's 
assurance  that  before  he  himself  stole  away,  he  had 
offered  to  release  his  uncle,  met  with  its  meed  of 
kind  words ;  and  when  she  learned  that  Joshua  had 
refused  his  nephew's  help  in  order  that  he  might 
not  imperil  the  success  of  the  plan  he  had  suggested 
to  him,  she  exclaimed  to  the  waiting-woman,  with 
tears  in  her  eyes,  that  no  one  but  he  could  act  so 


JOSHUA.  263 

nobly ;  and  she  listened  eagerly  to  the  rest  of  the 
lad's  tale,  interrupted  him  frequently  with  sympa- 
thetic questions. 

So  blissful  a  close  to  the  fearful  nights  and  days 
he  had  just  passed,  seemed  to  him  as  a  beautiful 
dream,  a  bewildering  romance ;  and  he  did  not  need 
the  encouragement  of  the  cup  she  diligently  filled 
for  him  to  make  him  tell  his  story  with  eager 
vivacity.  With  an  eloquence  altogether  new  to  him 
he  described  how,  in  the  ravine,  he  had  slipped  on 
a  loose  stone  and  had  fallen  with  it  headlong  to  the 
bottom.  There  he  had  thought  that  all  was  lost, 
for  soon  after  he  had  shaken  himself  clear  of  the 
rubbish  in  which  he  was  buried,  to  hurry  down  to 
the  Salt  Lake,  he  had  heard  the  drivers'  whistle. 
However,  from  his  childhood  he  had  always  been  a 
good  runner,  and  he  had  learned  in  his  native  fields 
how  to  read  his  bearings  by  the  stars,  so,  without 
looking  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  he  had  flown 
on  as  fast  as  his  feet  would  carry  him,  to  the  south, 
always  to  the  south.  Many  times  had  he  fallen  in 
the  dark  over  stones  or  pits  in  the  desert  sand,  but 
only  to  spring  up  again  and  hurry  on  to  where  he 
knew  that  she,  Kasana,  was — she,  for  whose  sake  he 
would  unhesitatingly  cast  to  the  winds  all  that  wise- 
heads  could  advise — she  for  whom  he  was  ready  to 
give  life  and  liberty. 

How  he  found  courage  to  make  this  confession  he 
knew  not.  Nor  was  he  sobered  by  the  tap  she  gave 
him  with  her  fan,  or  by  the  old  woman's  exclamation 
"  A  boy  like  that ! "  No !  his  beaming  eyes  only 


264  JOSHUA. 

sought  her  gaze  as  they  had  done  before,  while  he 
went  on  with  his  story. 

The  dog  which  had  come  up  with  him  he  had 
hurled  against  a  rock ;  the  other  he  had  driven  off 
by  flinging  stones  at  him  till  he  retreated,  whining, 
into  a  thicket.  He  had  seen  nothing  of  any  other 
pursuers  neither  that  night  nor  all  the  next  day. 
At  last  he  reached  a  high  road  and  came  up  with 
some  country-folk  who  told  him  which  way  the 
King's  Army  had  marched.  Then  about  midday, 
being  overcome  by  fatigue,  he  had  gone  to  sleep  in 
the  shade  of  a  sycamore,  and  when  he  woke  the  sun 
was  near  setting.  He  was  dreadfully  hungry,  so  he 
had  pulled  a  few  turnips  in  a  field  as  he  passed  by ; 
but  the  owner  had  immediately  come  forward  from 
a  water-course  at  hand,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  he  had  escaped  from  his  pursuit.  During  part 
of  the  next  night  he  had  kept  to  the  high  road,  and 
had  rested  at  last  by  a  well  on  the  way,  for  he  knew 
that  wild  beasts  shun  much  frequented  spots.  After 
sunrise  he  had  set  forth  again,  following  the  road 
the  army  had  taken,  and  had  come  upon  its  traces 
everywhere.  Shortly  before  noon,  when  he  was 
quite  exhausted  and  sick  with  fasting,  he  came  to  a 
village  lying  close  to  the  fertile  tract  watered  by  the 
Seti  Canal,  and  had  considered  whether  it  would 
not  be  well  to  sell  his  gold  bracelet  to  purchase  some 
good  nourishment,  and  keep  some  silver  and  copper 
coin  for  future  need  ;  but  he  had  feared  being  taken 
for  a  thief  and  cast  into  prison  again,  for  the  thorns 
had  torn  his  raiment  and  his  sandals  had  long  since 


JOSHUA.  265 

dropped  from  his  feet.  He  had  thought  that  his 
misery  must  move  even  the  hard-hearted  to  pity,  so 
he  had  knocked  at  a  door  and  begged,  bitter  as  it 
had  been  to  him.  However,  he  got  nothing  from 
the  peasant  but  a  scornful  admonition  that  such  a 
strong  young  fellow  as  he  might  work  for  his  living, 
and  leave  begging  to  the  weak  and  old.  A  second 
had  threatened  him  with  a  thrashing;  however, 
when  he  had  gone  some  way  further,  feeling  very 
crestfallen,  a  young  woman,  who  had  seen  him  at 
the  niggard's  door,  came  after  him  and  put  a  cake 
of  bread  with  a  few  dates  into  his  hand,  hastily  tell- 
ing him  that  the  village  had  been  heavily  taxed  in 
the  course  of  Pharaoh's  progress,  or  she  would  have 
given  him  something  better.  No  banquet  had  ever 
before  tasted  as  sweet  to  him  as  this  unlocked  for 
gift,  which  he  ate  by  the  next  well ;  but  he  did  not 
confess  that  it  had  been  embittered  by  the  doubt  as 
to  whether  he  should  obey  Joshua's  counsel  and  return 
to  his  own  people,  or  follow  his  heart's  desire  which 
drew  him  to  her.  He  had  started  again,  still  unde- 
cided ;  but  fate  seemed  to  have  taken  the  matter  into 
her  own  hands.  After  he  had  wTalked  on  about  half 
an  hour  longer  on  reaching  the  edge  of  the  desert, 
he  had  come  upon  a  youth  of  about  his  own  age,  sit- 
ting by  the  wayside  and  moaning  as  he  held  one  of 
his  feet  in  both  hands.  He  had  gone  up  to  him  at 
his  call,  and  to  his  surprise  had  recognized  him  as 
Hornecht's  runner  and  messenger  with  whom  he  had 
often  spoken. 

"  Apoo !    our  nimble  Nubian  !  "    interrupted  the 


266  JOSHUA. 

lady ;  and  Ephraim  went  on  to  tell  her  that  this 
messenger  had  been  sent  to  carry  a  letter  to  Prince 
Siptah  in  all  haste,  and  the  swift-footed  lad,  who 
was  wont  to  outrun  his  master's  horses,  would  have 
flown  like  an  arrow  and  have  reached  his  destination 
in  two  hours,  if  he  had  not  trodden  on  a  fragment 
of  broken  glass — a  bottle  crushed  by  some  chariot 
wheel — and  the  cut  was  dreadfully  deep. 

"  And  you  helped  him  ? "  asked  Kasana. 

"  Could  I  do  otherwise  ?  "  was  the  answer.  "  He 
had  half  bled  to  death  already  and  was  as  pale  as  a 
sheet.  So  I  carried  him  to  the  nearest  canal  and 
washed  his  gaping  wound,  and  applied  some  oint- 
ment he  had  with  him." 

"  I  put  it  in  his  pocket  a  year  ago,  in  a  small 
pot,"  said  the  nurse,  who,  being  easily  moved,  was 
wiping  her  eyes  :  and  Ephraim  confirmed  the  fact, 
for  Apoo  had  mentioned  it  with  gratitude.  Then 
he  went  on : 

"  I  tore  my  tunic  into  strips  and  bound  his  foot 
ap  as  best  I  might.  But  he  urged  me  all  the  while 
to  make  haste,  and  held  out  the  token  and  the  note 
which  his  master  had  entrusted  to  him,  and  knowing 
nothing  of  the  misfortunes  which  had  befallen  me, 
he  charged  me  to  carry  the  letter  to  the  Prince  in 
his  stead.  Oh !  how  gladly  I  undertook  to  do  so, 
and  the  second  hour  was  not  ended  when  I  reached 
the  camp.  The  letter  is  in  the  Prince's  hands,  and 
here  am  I,  and  I  can  see  by  your  face  that  you  are 
well  pleased.  As  for  me —  So  happy  as  I  am  to  sit 
here  at  your  feet  and  gaze  up  at  you,  so  thankful  as 


JOSHtlA.  267 

I  am  to  you  for  having  listened  to  me  so  patiently, 
surely,  no  one  ever  was  in  this  world  !  And  if  they 
put  me  in  chains  I  will  bear  it  quietly  if  only  you 
remain  kind.  My  woes  have  been  so  many  ;  I  have 
neither  father  nor  mother — nor  any  one  to  love  me, 
only  you. — I  love  none  but  you,  and  you  will  not 
repel  me,  will  you  ? " 

He  spoke  the  last  words  like  one  in  a  frenzy. 
Carried  away  by  his  passion,  incapable,  after  the 
terrible  strain  of  the  last  days  and  hours,  of  govern- 
ing the  overwhelming  storm  of  his  feelings,  the  lad 
sobbed  aloud.  He  was  scarcely  past  childhood  yet, 
he  had  only  himself  to  trust  to,  he  had  been  torn 
and  severed  from  all  that  had  ever  upheld  and  con- 
trolled him,  and,  like  a  young  bird  taking  refuge 
under  its  mother's  wings,  he  hid  his  face  in  Kasana's 
lap,  weeping  violently. 

Deep  compassion  came  over  the  tender-hearted 
young  woman,  and  her  eyes  too  were  moist.  She 
gently  laid  her  hand  on  his  hair  ;  and  as  she  felt  the 
shudder  which  ran  through  the  boy's  whole  frame, 
she  raised  his  head  in  both  hands,  kissed  his  fore- 
head and  cheeks,  and  smiling  through  her  tears,  as 
she  looked  into  his  face,  said  : 

"  You  poor,  foolish  boy !  why  should  I  not  be 
kind  to  you,  or  repel  you  ?  Your  uncle  is  the  man 
dearest  to  me  in  the  world,  and  you  are  as  a  son  to 
him.  To  serve  him  and  you  I  have  already  con- 
sented to  do  that  which  I  had  always  utterly  loathed 
and  refused.  But  now,  come  what  may,  and  what- 
ever others  may  think  or  say  of  me,  I  will  not  care, 


268  JOSHUA. 

if  only  I  can  succeed  in  doing  that  for  which  I  will 
give  my  life  and  all  I  hold  most  dear. — Only  wait, 
poor  vehement  boy,"  and  again  she  kissed  his  cheeks, 
"  I  will  smooth  the  way  for  you  too !  Now,  enough 
of  this." 

She  spoke  firmly,  and  the  words  were  enough  to 
check  the  excited  lad's  words.  But,  suddenly,  she 
sprang  up,  crying  in  terrified  haste  :  "  Fly,  fly,  be- 
gone instantly !  " 

A  man's  footstep  approaching  the  tent,  and  a 
warning  word  from  the  waiting  woman  had  brought 
the  brief  command  to  Kasana's  lips,  and  Ephraim's 
keen  ear  told  him  what  had  roused  her  fears,  and 
drove  him  forthwith  into  the  dark  chamber,  whence 
he  could  satisfy  himself  that  a  moment's  hesitation 
would  have  betrayed  him.  The  curtain  of  the  tent 
was  lifted  and  a  man  walked  straight  through  the 
anteroom  to  the  lighted  apartment  where  Kasana — 
for  that  too  he  could  hear — greeted  some  new  guest 
only  too  warmly,  and  as  though  surprised  at  his 
coming  so  late. 

The  waiting  woman  snatched  up  her  own  mantle 
to  throw  over  the  lad's  bare  shoulders,  and  she 
whispered  to  him :  "  Linger  near  the  tent  some- 
time before  sunrise,  but  do  not  come  in  till  I  call  you 
if  you  love  your  life.  You  have  neither  father  nor 
mother,  and  my  child  Kasana — a  loving  heart  is 
hers,  a  heart  of  gold — she  is  the  best  of  all  that  is 
good  ;  but  whether  she  is  fit  to  guide  a  foolish  scape- 
grace who  burns  for  her  like  dry  straw,  is  quite 
another  matter.  As  I  listened  to  your  story, 


JOSHUA.  269 

I  thought  of  many  things,  and  as  I  mean  well 
by  you,  I  will  tell  you  something:  You  have 
an  uncle  who  is  the  noblest  of  men — I  know  what 
men  are,  and  so  far  my  Kasana  is  right.  Do  his 
bidding.  It  will  be  for  your  good.  Obey  him ! 
And  if  his  orders  take  you  far  from  here  and  from 
Kasana,  so  much  the  better  for  you.  We  walk  in 
dangerous  places,  and  if  it  were  not  for  Hosea's  sake, 
I  should  have  done  everything  in  my  power  to  hold 
her  back.  But  for  him — well,  I  am  an  old  woman, 
but  for  that  man,  even  I  would  go  through  fire  and 
water.  I  grieve  more  than  I  can  say  for  that  pure 
sweet  child,  and  for  you,  who  are  so  like  what  my  own 
son  was ;  but  I  say  once  more,  obey  your  uncle,  boy, 
or  you  will  come  to  an  evil  end,  and  that  would  be 
a  pity  indeed." 

Then,  without  waiting  for  a  reply,  she  pushed  him 
towards  one  of  the  openings  in  the  canvas  wall  of 
the  tent,  and  waited  till  Ephraim  had  wriggled  out. 
Then  she  dried  her  eyes  and  went  back  into  the 
lighted  room  as  though  by  chance  ;  but  Kasana  and 
her  belated  visitor  had  matters  to  discuss  which  al- 
lowed of  no  witness,  and  her  "  dear  child  "  only  suf- 
fered her  to  light  her  own  little  lamp  at  the  three- 
armed  candelabrum,  and  then  sent  her  to  bed. 

She  submitted  ;  but  in  the  darkened  room,  where 
her  bed  stood  not  far  from  her  mistress's,  she  lay 
down,  and  then,  covering  her  face  with  her  hands, 
wept  in  silence. 

To  this  good  soul,  the  world  seemed  to  be  turned 
upside  down.  She  could  not  think  what  Kasana, 


2/0  JOSHUA. 

her  darling  foster-child,  would  be  at.  She  was  for- 
feiting purity  and  honor  to  a  man  whom — as  she  well 
knew — she  loathed  in  her  soul.  And  this  monstrous 
sacrifice  she  was  making  for  Hosea,  who  though  he 
was  no  doubt  worthy  of  her  love,  had  scorned  it ; 
whereas  any  other  woman  would  have  rejoiced  over 
the  punishment  brought  upon  him  by  the  avenging 
gods. 


JOSHUA.  271 


CHAPTER  IY. 

EPHRAIM  crept  round  the  tent  he  had  quitted, 
pressing  an  ear  against  the  canvas  wall.  He  very 
cautiously  undid  a  few  of  the  stitches  in  one  of  the 
seams,  and  so  could  see  as  well  as  hear  what  was 
going  on  in  the  lady's  sitting-room.  The  storm 
kept  everyone  within  shelter  who  was  not  compelled 
by  service  to  turn  out,  and  Ephraim  had  the  less 
reason  to  fear  discovery  because  the  spot  where  he 
crouched  was  in  deep  shade.  The  old  nurse's  cloak 
was  wrapped  about  him,  and  though  a  shudder  again 
and  again  ran  through  his  young  limbs,  it  was  bitter 
grief  that  caused  it  and  anguish  of  soul. 

He  saw  Kasana's  head  resting  on  the  breast  of  a 
prince,  a  great  and  powerful  lover,  and  the  capri- 
cious false  one  did  not  even  forbid  the  bold  suitor 
when  his  lips  sought  hers  for  the  kisses  he  desired. 
She  owed  no  faith  to  Ephraim  indeed,  but  her  heart 
vas  his  uncle's ;  she  preferred  him  above  all  men, 
she  had  declared  herself  ready  to  endure  the  worst 
to  procure  his  freedom,  and  now  he  saw  with  his 
own  eyes  that  she  was  false  and  faithless,  and  giving 
to  another  that  which  by  right  was  Hosea's  alone. 
To  Ephraim  himself  she  had  shown  favor — the  mere 
crumbs  which  fell  from  Hosea's  table,  and  even  that, 


2/2  JOSHUA. 

as  he  confessed  with  a  flush,  was  a  robbery  from  his 
uncle  ;  and  he  felt  himself  injured,  wounded,  and  be- 
trayed, and  on  fire  with  jealousy  on  behalf  of  his 
uncle,  whom  he  honored,  nay,  and  loved,  though  he 
had  contravened  his  wishes. 

And  Hosea  ?  He,  like  Ephraim  himself,  and  like 
that  princely  personage,  like  every  one  in  short,  must 
surely  love  her  in  spite  of  his  strange  demeanor  at 
the  way -side  well;  it  could  not  possibly  be  other- 
wise ;  while  she,  safe  from  the  vengeance  of  the 
unhappy  prisoner,  was  abandoning  herself  with 
cowardly  baseness  to  the  caresses  of  another ! 

Siptah,  as  he  had  learnt  from  their  last  meeting, 
was  his  uncle's  foe  ;  for  him  of  all  men,  she  was  be- 
traying the  man  she  loved.  Through  the  slit  in  the 
tent-cloth  he  could  see  all  that  went  on  within,  but 
he  closed  his  eyes  to  avoid  seeing  many  things.  More 
often,  indeed,  the  odious  spectacle  riveted  his  gaze 
with  a  mysterious  spell,  and  then  he  longed  to  tear 
the  rent  wider,  to  fell  the  loathed  foe,  and  speak 
words  of  stern  reproof  to  the  faithless  woman,  in 
Hosea's  name.  The  fierce  passion  which  had  pos- 
sessed him  was  suddenly  turned  to  hatred  and  scorn. 
From  the  happiest  of  human  beings,  as  he  had 
deemed  himself,  he  had  become  the  most  miserable. 
Such  a  fall  from  the  'highest  bliss  to  the  deepest 
woe,  none  before  him,  he  believed,  had  ever  known. 
The  old  nurse  had  spoken  truly,  there  could  be 
nothing  in  store  for  him  at  Kasana's  hands  but 
misery  and  despair.  Once  he  had  started  to  fly,  but 
then  the  bewitching  sound  of  her  silvery  laugh  fell 


JOSHUA.  2/3 

on  his  ear,  and  a  mysterious  power  held  him  rooted 
to  the  spot  to  listen  a  little  longer. 

At  first  the  rush  of  blood  tingled  so  fiercely  in  his 
ears  that  he  was  quite  incapable  of  following  the 
dialogue  within.  By  degrees,  however,  he  had 
gathered  the  purport  of  whole  sentences,  and  now 
he  lost  not  a  word  that  was  spoken.  It  was  indeed 
of  the  greatest  interest,  though  it  enabled  him  to 
look  into  an  abyss  which  seemed  to  yawn  at  his  feet. 

Kasana  by  no  means  yielded  to  her  audacious 
wooer  on  every  point,  but  this  only  drew  him  on  to 
insist  passionately  on  her  entire  surrender,  body  and 
soul ;  and  what  he  offered  in  return  was  indeed  the 
highest  reward — a  place  as  Queen  at  his  side  on  the 
throne  of  Egypt,  for  which  he  was  plotting.  That 
much  he  distinctly  uttered,  but  all  else  was  hard  to 
follow ;  for  the  vehement  lover  was  in  haste,  and 
frequently  interrupted  his  incoherent  sentences  to 
assure  Kasana  of  his  unutterable  devotion,  or  to 
mollify  her,  when  the  audacity  of  his  pretensions 
roused  her  fears  or  her  disgust.  Presently  he  spoke 
of  the  letter  which  Ephraim  had  brought,  and  after 
he  had  read  it  aloud  and  explained  it  to  her,  the  boy 
perceived,  with  a  shudder,  that  he  himself  had  now 
become  an  accomplice  in  the  most  detestable  of 
crimes.  For  a  moment  he  felt  prompted  to  betray 
the  traitors  and  deliver  them  into  the  hands  of  the 
sovereign  whose  overthrow  they  were  plotting.  But 
he  cast  this  idea  from  him,  and  only  indulged  in  the 
comforting  reflection — the  first  that  had  come  to 
him  during  this  dreadful  experience — that  he  held 
18 


2/4  JOSHUA. 

Kasana  and  her  prince  in  his  clutcn  like  chafers  on 
a  thread.  This  raised  his  spirits  and  restored  his 
lost  confidence  and  courage.  The  baser  the  schemes 
he  now  overheard,  the  greater  and  more  surely  grew 
his  recovered  sense  of  the  value  of  truth  and  right. 
He  remembered  likewise  an  admonition  of  his 
uncle's :  "  Give  no  man,  great  or  small,  cause  to 
regard  you  with  anything  but  respect,  and  then  yau 
may  hold  your  head  as  high  as  the  proudest  hero  in 
his  purple  tunic  and  gilt  breastplate ! " 

As  he  had  lain  trembling  with  fever  on  his  bed  in 
Kasana's  house  he  had  repeated  the  saying  many 
times,  but  the  miseries  of  captivity  had  banished  it 
from  his  mind  ;  not  till  he  found  himself  in  the 
chamberlain's  tent,  when  the  slave  had  held  the 
mirror  that  he  might  see  himself  bathed  and  anointed, 
had  it  occurred  to  him  as  a  passing  thought ;  but 
now  it  wholly  possessed  his  soul.  And,  strangely 
enough,  the  royal  traitor  within  the  tent  wore,  in 
fact,  a  purple  tunic  and  gilt  armor,  and  looked  in- 
deed a  hero ;  but  he  could  not  hold  his  head  high, 
for  the  deed  he  proposed  could  only  succeed  in  twi- 
light secrecy ;  it  was  like  the  work  of  a  loathsome 
mole  which  turns  up  the  earth  in  the  darkness.  The 
hateful  three  :  Falsehood,  Treachery  and  Perjury, 
were  Siptah's  tools,  and  she  whom  he  had  chosen  to 
be  his  accomplice  was  the  woman — at  the  bottom  of 
his  soul,  he  was  ashamed  to  own  it — the  woman 
for  whose  sake  he  had  been  ready  to  sacrifice  all  he 
held  sacred,  worthy  and  dear. 

These  hideous  things,  which  he  had  been  taught 


JOSHUA.  275 

to  flee  from,  were  but  the  rungs  of  the  ladder  by 
which  that  wicked  man  hoped  to  mount  to  high 
estate.  Ephraim  saw  it  all :  the  prince's  plot  lay 
before  him  as  an  open  book. 

The  roll  the  lad  had  brought  to  the  camp  had  con- 
tained three  letters.  One  was  from  the  conspirators 
in  Tanis,  the  others  from  Siptah's  mother.  She 
wrote  that  she  looked  for  her  son's  speedy  return, 
and  informed  him  that  Aarsu  the  Syrian,  the  Captain 
of  the  foreign  troops  now  in  charge  of  the  palace, 
and  all  in  the  women's  house,  were  prepared  to  hail 
him  King.  As  soon  as  the  High  Priest  of  Amon, 
who  was  at  the  same  time  the  Chief  Judge,  High 
Steward  and  Keeper  of  the  Seal,  should  proclaim 
him,  he  would  be  King  and  could  mount  the  throne 
unopposed,  for  the  palace  stood  open  to  him.  If 
Pharaoh  should  return,  the  body-guard  were  ready 
to  take  him  prisoner  and  put  him  out  of  the  way— 
as  Siptah,  who  did  not  love  half  measures,  had 
secretly  commanded,  though  Baie  had  voted  for  his 
being  kept  in  mild  captivity. 

The  only  thing  to  be  feared  was  the  premature  re- 
appearance of  Seti,  Menephtah's  younger  son,  now 
at  Thebes  ;  for  now  that  his  elder  brother  was  dead 
he  had  become  heir  to  the  throne,  and  pigeons  had 
arrived  yesterday  with  letters  announcing  that  he 
was  on  his  way.  Thus  Siptah  and  the  powerful 
priest  who  was  to  proclaim  him  must  make  the  best 
speed  they  could. 

The  necessary  precautions  had  also  been  taken  to 
prevent  any  possible  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 


2?6  JOSHUA. 

army ;  as  soon  as  the  Hebrews  were  destroyed,  the 
larger  portion  of  the  troops  were  to  be  withdrawn 
forthwith  into  the  garrisons  they  had  left ;  the  body- 
guard were  attached  to  Siptah,  and  the  rest,  who 
would  escort  the  royal  party  back  to  the  capital, 
could,  if  it  came  to  the  worst,  easily  be  overpowered 
by  Aarsu  and  his  mercenaries. 

"  Nothing  now  remains  for  me  to  do,"  cried  the 
Prince,  stretching  himself  with  evident  enjoyment, 
like  a  man  who  has  successfully  achieved  a  difficult 
undertaking,  "  but  to  make  my  way  back  to  Tanis 
with  Baie  a  few  hours  hence,  to  let  myself  be  crowned 
and  proclaimed  in  the  Temple  of  Amon,  and  finally 
make  my  entry  into  the  palace  of  the  Pharaohs. 
The  rest  is  a  matter  of  course.  Seti,  who  is  called 
the  heir  to  the  crown,  is  as  weak  a  creature  as  his 
father,  and  will  bend  to  the  accomplished  fact,  to 
necessity  and  force.  The  Captain  of  the  body-guard 
will  take  care  that  Menephtah  never  enters  the  palace 
again." 

The  Prince's  mother  had  written  a  second  letter 
addressed  to  Pharaoh  himself,  to  justify  Siptah  and 
the  High  Priest  in  returning  to  the  capital  in  all  haste, 
without  exposing  the  Prince  to  the  imputation  of 
cowardice  in  leaving  the  army  immediately  before  a 
battle.  Although  she  had  never  in  her  life  been  in 
better  health  she  declared  with  hypocritical  prayers 
and  lamentations  that  her  hours  were  numbered,  and 
implored  the  King  to  release  her  son  and  Baie  forth- 
with from  their  duties,  that  she  might  be  allowed  to 
bless  her  only  child  before  she  died.  She  had  many 


JOSHUA.  277 

sins  on  her  conscience,  and  none  but  the  High  Priest 
had  it  in  his  power  to  intercede  for  her  for  the  mercy 
of  the  Gods.  Without  his  mediation  she  must  depart 
in  despair.  This  letter,  too,  the  vile  traitor  had 
read,  and  had  pronounced  it  a  master-piece  of  woman's 
cunning,  rubbing  his  hands  with  glee  as  he  spoke. 

Treason,  murder,  dissimulation,  base  deceit,  a 
mocking  of  all  the  most  sacred  feelings,  everything 
foul  and  mean,  were  to  be  Siptah's  aids  to  mounting 
the  throne,  and  though  Kasana  had  wrung  her  hands 
and  shed  some  tears  when  he  told  her  that  Pharaoh 
was  to  be  put  out  of  the  way,  she  grew  calmer  as 
the  Prince  represented  to  her  that  her  own  father 
approved  of  what  he  had  decided  on,  to  save  Egypt 
from  the  hand  of  the  King  who  was  bringing  the 
land  to  ruin. 

The  letter  from  the  Prince's  mother  to  Pharaoh — 
the  mother  who  was  spurring  on  her  own  son  to 
ruthless  crime — was  the  last  thing  Ephraim  stayed 
to  hear ;  for  the  young  Hebrew,  accustomed  to  regard 
the  bond  between  parents  and  children  as  reverend 
and  pure  beyond  all  others,  was  roused  by  it  to  such 
a  sudden  frenzy  that  he  raised  his  fist,  and  as  he. 
sprang  away  he  muttered  a  word  of  scorn  and  abuse 
Thus,  he  did  not  hear  how  Kasana  made  the  Prince 
pledge  his  word  that,  if  he  rose  to  power,  he  would 
grant  her  first  request.  It  should  cost  him  neither 
money  nor  lands,  and  merely  afford  her  the  privilege 
of  showing  mercy  at  the  dictate  of  her  heart,  for 
events  were  impending  which  must  provoke  the 
wrath  of  the  gods,  and  she  only  implored  to  be  al- 
lowed to  mitigate  it. 


josrttu. 

Ephraim  could  not  bear  to  see  or  hear  more  of 
this  revolting  scene.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  he 
began  to  understand  what  danger  he  had  run  of 
allowing  himself  to  be  drawn  into  this  slough,  and 
becoming  a  lost  and  reprobate  wretch  ;  but  surely, 
he  thought,  he  could  never  have  been  so  base,  so 
abominable  as  these  two.  Once  more  he  remembered 
his  uncle's  words,  and  he  threw  back  his  haughty 
head,  and  his  deep  chest  swelled  as  though  he  would 
assure  himself  of  his  own  unbroken  strength ;  and 
he  said  to  himself,  as  he  drew  a  deep  breath,  that  he 
was  fit  for  better  things  than  being  wasted  on  a  bad 
woman,  even  if,  like  Kasana,  she  were  the  fairest 
and  most  bewitching  creature  under  Heaven. 

Away,  Away!  far  from  the  snare  which  might 
have  led  him  to  murder  and  every  kind  of  evil ! 

Fully  determined  to  return  to  his  own  people,  he 
made  his  way  to  the  entrance  to  the  camp ;  but  he 
had  gone  only  a  few  steps  when  he  stopped,  and  a 
glance  at  the  sky  showed  him  it  was  not  more  than 
two  hours  past  midnight.  All  was  still.  Only  from 
the  pen  where  the  King's  horses  were  enclosed  he 
heard  now  and  then  the  rattle  of  harness  or  the  blow 
of  a  hoof.  If  he  attempted  at  this  hour  to  make  his 
escape,  he  must  certainly  be  detected  and  detained  ; 
prudence  enjoined  him  to  curb  his  impatience  for  a 
little  while,  and  as  he  looked  about  him,  his  eye  fell 
on  the  chamberlain's  tent,  from  which  the  old  slave 
came  out  to  look  for  his  master,  who  was  still  await- 
ing Siptah's  return  in  the  prince's  quarters.  This 
old  man  had  been  kind  before  to  Ephraim,  and  he 


JOSHUA, 

How,  with  friendly  urgency,  bid  him  enter  the  tent 
and  rest,  for,  said  he,  youth  requires  sleep.  Ephraim 
accepted  the  well-meant  invitation,  for  he  now  began 
to  feel  how  badly  his  feet  ached;  hardly  had  he 
stretched  himself  on  the  mat— the  old  slave  had  spread 
his  own  for  him — when  he  felt  as  if  his  limbs  were 
dropping  t>ff ;  however,  he  thought  he  should  here 
have  time  and  peace  for  reflection. 

He  began  by  thinking  of  the  future  and  his  uncle's 
injunctions.  That  he  must  forthwith  rejoin  his 
people  was  quite  clear,  and  if  they  escaped  alive  from 
Pharaoh's  host,  let  the  rest  do  what  they  would, 
his  first  duty  would  be  to  collect  his  herdsmen,  his 
servants,  and  his  younger  friends,  and  hasten  at 
their  head  to  the  mines,  to  strike  off  Hosea's  chains 
and  conduct  him  home  to  his  old  father  and  his 
people  who  needed  him  so  sorely.  He  fancied  he 
could  see  himself  with  his  sling  at  his  girdle  and  a 
battle-axe  in  his  hand  marching  on  in  front  of  the 
rest,  when  sleep  overpowered  him,  and  wrapped  the 
weary  youth  in  oblivion  so  deep  and  sweet  that  not 
even  a  dream  approached  his  pillow,  and  the  old 
slave  had  to  shake  him  in  order  to  rouse  him  at 
daybreak. 

The  camp  was  already  astir ;  tents  were  being 
taken  down,  asses  and  ox-carts  loaded,  horses 
combed  and  shod,  chariots  cleaned,  weapons  and 
vessels  polished  and  the  first  meal  of  the  day  dis- 
tributed and  eaten.  Meanwhile  trumpet  calls  rung 
out  on  one  hand,  words  of  command  on  the  other, 
and  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  camp  rose  the  chant 


280  .  JOSHUA. 

of  priests  devoutly  greeting  the  newborn  god  of  day. 
Active  servants  now  brought  out  a  gilt  chariot  in 
front  of  the  splendid  purple  tent  next  to  Kasana's, 
and  another  not  less  splendid  followed.  Prince 
Siptah  and  the  High  Priest  had  received  permission 
from  Pharaoh  to  return  to  Tanis,  at  the  desire  of  a 
dying  woman.  Shortly  after  Ephraim  took  leave  of 
the  friendly  slave,  charging  him  to  return  the  cloak 
to  Kasana's  nurse,  and  to  tell  her  that  the  messenger 
had  followed  her  advice  and  his  uncle's.  Then  he 
set  forth  on  his  journey. 

He  got  out  of  the  precincts  of  the  Egyptian  tents 
without  let  or  hindrance,  and  when  he  found  him- 
self out  in  the  desert  he  uttered  the  cry  by  which 
he  was  wont  to  collect  his  shepherds  in  the  pastures. 
The  call  rang  out  across  the  wide  plains,  startling  a 
sparrow-hawk  which  was  spying  the  distance  from 
the  top  of  a  rock,  and  as  the  bird  soared  up  the  lad 
felt  as  though,  if  he  spread  out  his  arms,  wings 
must  sprout  strong  enough  to  bear  him  too  through 
the  air.  Never  had  he  felt  so  strong  and  agile,  so 
light  and  free ;  and  if  the  priest  could  at  this  mo- 
ment have  asked  him  whether  he  would  become  a 
captain  over  thousands  in  Pharaoh's  army,  he  would 
certainly  have  answered  as  he  had  done  by  Nun's 
ruined  dwelling,  that  he  asked  no  better  lot  than 
that  of  a  shepherd,  free  to  govern  his  herds  and 
servants.  He  was  an  orphan,  but  yet  he  had  his 
people  to  whom  he  belonged  and  where  they  were  was 
his  home.  Like  a  traveller  who,  after  long  journey- 
ing,finds  himself  near  home,  he  now  hastened  his  steps. 


JOSHUA.  28l 

He  had  arrived  at  Tanis  on  the  night  of  the  new 
moon,  and  the  full  disk  which  he  now  saw  paling  in 
the  dawn  was  the  same  as  he  had  then  gazed  on ; 
but  he  felt  as  though  years  had  elapsed  between  his 
leave-taking  of  Miriam  and  this  day,  for  indeed  a 
whole  lifetime  of  new  experiences  had  been  crowded 
into  these  few  days.  He  had  come  forth  as  a  boy  ; 
he  was  returning  a  man  to  his  own  folk,  and  thanks 
to  the  events  of  this  one  dreadful  night,  he  was  the 
same  as  he  had  ever  been  and  could  look  boldly  in 
the  face  of  each  one  whom  he  loved  and  looked  up 
to  with  reverence. 

Nay,  more.  He  would  show  the  man  Avhom  he 
held  high  above  all  others,  that  he,  Ephraim,  might 
carry  his  head  erect.  He  would  repay  Joshua  for 
what  he  had  done  for  him  by  being  content  to  re- 
main in  bonds  and  fetters  in  order  that  his  nephew 
might  flee  away  as  free  as  a  bird. 

He  had  walked  above  an  hour  when  he  came  to 
a  ruined  watch-tower.  He  climbed  up  it,  and  from 
thence  he  descried  at  a  great  distance,  on  the  hither 
side  of  the  hill  of  Baal-Zephon,  which  he  had  long 
seen  towering  above  the  horizon,  the  gleaming  waters 
of  the  Northern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  storm 
was  lulled,  still  he  could  see  from  the  swaying  of 
the  emerald  surface  that  the  sea  was  not  yet  calm, 
and  a  few  black  piles  of  cloud  on  the  sky  which  just 
now  had  been  so  clear,  seemed  to  threaten  a  gather- 
ing storm  again.  He  looked  about  him  on  all  sides, 
wondering  what  the  leaders  of  the  people  could  be 
thinking  of,  if  indeed,  as  Siptah  had  told  Kasana, 


282  JOSHUA. 

they  purposed  to  encamp  between  Pihahiroth,  of 
which  he  now  saw  the  tents  and  huts  close  before 
him  on  the  shore  of  the  canal  of  Seti,  and  the  hill  of 
Baal-Zephon. 

Had  Siptah  spoken  falsely  ?  No  indeed !  the 
base  traitor  had  this  once  departed  from  his  habits ; 
between  the  village  and  the  lake,  where  the  wind 
was  whirling  thin  pillars  of  smoke,  his  sharp  eyes 
descried  a  multitude  of  white  objects  looking  like  a 
distant  flock  of  sheep,  and  among  and  around  them 
a  strange  stir  and  bustle  on  the  sand.  This  was  the 
camp  of  the  Israelites. 

How  small  the  space  appeared  which  parted 
him  from  them !  But  the  nearer  they  seemed  the 
greater  was  his  anxiety,  as  he  reflected  that  this  vast 
multitude,  with  their  women  and  children,  their  herds 
and  tents,  could  never  escape  the  mighty  host  which 
in  a  few  hours  must  inevitably  fall  upon  them.  His 
heart  swelled  within  him  as  he  looked  further  afield ; 
for  neither  to  the  East,  where  stretched  a  broad 
pool  of  water,  nor  to  the  South,  where  the  waves  of 
the  Red  Sea  were  surging,  -nor  to  the  North,  whence 
Pharaoh's  army  was  marching  down  on  them,  was 
there  any  way  to  fly.  To  the  west  lay  the  desert  of 
Etham,  and  if  the  wanderers  turned  thitherward 
they  would  soon  be  on  Egyptian  soil  and  the  exodus 
would  have  been  in  vain.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  give  battle  ;  and  as  he  thought  of  it  his  blood 
ran  cold,  for  he  well  knew  the  ill-armed,  undis- 
ciplined forces  of  the  Hebrews,  half  wild  and  re- 
fractory, half  cowardly  and  contemptible,  and  he  had 


JOSHtTA.  283 

seen  the  march  past  of  the  numberless  and  well- 
equipped  Egyptian  army  with  its  strong  force  of  foot 
soldiers  and  splendid  war-chariots. 

He  now  thought,  as  his  uncle  had  thought,  that 
the  Hebrews  were  doomed  to  certain  destruction, 
unless  the  God  of  their  fathers  should  save  them. 
Miriam  had  indeed  many  a  time  and  again,  just  be- 
fore his  departure,  praised  that  Almighty  Lord  and 
His  glory  with  flashing  eyes  and  inspired  words ; 
that  God  who  had  chosen  his  people  above  all 
other  people.  The  words  of  the  prophetess  had 
filled  his  childish  soul  with  vague  terrors  of  this 
God's  immeasurable  greatness  and  awful  wrath. 
He  hath  found  it  easier  to  uplift  his  spirit  to  the 
Sun-God  when  his  teacher,  a  kind  and  genial  Egyp- 
tian priest,  had  led  him  into  the  temple  at  Pithom. 
As  he  grew  older  he  had  entirely  ceased  to  feel  the 
need  of  turning  to  any  god  in  prayer,  for  he  craved 
nothing  ;  and  while  other  boys  were  still  obedient  to 
their  parents'  will,  the  shepherds,  who  knew  full 
well  that  he  was  the  owner  of  the  flocks  they  tended, 
had  called  him  their  lord,  and,  at  first  in  jest  but 
then  in  earnest,  had  done  him  service  as  their  mas- 
ter. Thus  his  independence  had  been  early  fostered 
and  he  had  grown  to  be  but  a  wrong-headed  lad. 
Healthy  and  strong,  looked  up  to  by  men  older  than 
himself,  he  was  wholly  self-sufficient,  and  felt  that 
others  depended  on  him ;  and  as  there  was  nothing 
he  liked  so  little  as  asking  anything  of  any  one  great 
or  small,  it  misliked  him  to  pray  even  to  a  God  who 
was  so  far  and  so  high  above  him.  But  at  this  mo- 


284  JOSHUA. 

ment,  when  the  fearful  fate  impending  over  his  peo- 
ple weighed  so  heavily  on  his  heart,  a  sense  came 
upon  him  that  only  this  Great  and  Mighty  God 
could  deliver  them  out  of  their  fearful  and  pressing- 
peril,  that  none  could  withstand  this  vast  host  but 
only  He  in  whose  power  it  lay  to  break  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  in  pieces. 

And  what  was  he  that  the  Most  High,  whom  Mir- 
iam and  Hosea  had  described  as  of  such  Majesty, 
should  care  for  him  ?  But  his  people  were  many 
thousands,  and  God  had  not  scorned  to  make  them 
His  own  and  to  promise  them  great  things.  They 
were  standing  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  and  he, 
fresh  from  the  enemy's  camp,  was  perchance  the 
only  soul  who  understood  how  great  was  their 
peril. 

A  conviction  suddenly  came  over  him  that  it  was 
he  therefore,  above  all  others,  whose  task  it  must  be 
to  warn  the  God  of  his  fathers  of  the  great  danger 
which  threatened  His  people,  and  to  beseech  him  to 
save  them.  He,  caring  for  the  whole  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sun  and  the  stars,  had  perhaps  forgotten 
them.  The  lad  was  still  standing  on  the  top  of  the 
ruined  tower,  and  from  thence  he  uplifted  his  arms 
and  face  to  Heaven. 

To  the  north  be  saw  the  dark  clouds  which  he  had 
observed  rising  over  the  blue  sky,  suddenly  part  and 
roll  asunder  on  either  hand.  The  wind  which  had 
died  away  after  sunrise,  now  gained  force  and  swift- 
ness, and  soon  rose  to  a  storm  again.  It  swept 
across  the  isthmus  in  gusts  which  succeeded  each 


JOSHUA.  285 

other  with  increasing  rapidity,  carrying  before  it 
dense  pillars  of  yellow  sand. 

He  must  cry  aloud,  very  loud,  if  He  whom  he  en- 
treated was  to  hear  him  in  high  Heaven,  and  with 
all  the  strength  of  his  young  lungs  he  shouted 
against  the  storm  : — 

"  Adonai,  Adonai !  Thou  whose  name  is  Jehovah, 
Thou  Great  God  of  my  fathers,  hearken  unto  me, 
Ephraim,  who  am  but  young  and  of  no  account,  and 
whom,  inasmuch  as  I  am  but  nought,  Thou  hast  not 
remembered.  For  myself  I  ask  not,  but  the  people 
whom  thou  hast  called  Thine  are  in  great  straits. 
They  have  left  their  safe  dwelling  and  good  pastures 
by  reason  that  Thou  hast  promised  them  a  better 
and  a  fairer  land,  and  that  they  trusted  in  Thee  and 
in  Thy  word.  And  now  the  host  of  Pharaoh  is 
drawing  near,'  and  it  is  so  great  that  our  people  can 
never  withstand  it.  Believe  me,  it  is  so,  Eli,  my 
Lord.  For  I  have  seen  it  and  have  been  in  the 
midst  of  it,  and  as  surely  as  I  stand  here  I  have 
known  that  the  Egyptians  are  too  many  for  Thy 
people.  Pharaoh's  host  will  trample  them  under 
foot  as  the  hoof  of  the  ox  tramples  the  grain  on  the 
threshing-floor.  And  my  nation,  who  are  Thy  peo- 
ple, are  encamped  in  a  place  where  the  warriors  oi 
Pharaoh  can  cut  them  off  from  all  sides,  so  that 
there  is  no  way  left  them  by  which  they  may  es^ 
cape ;  not  one,  for  I  have  seen  it  from  this  spot, 
Hear  me,  O  Adonai !  But  canst  thou  hear  my  cry, 
O  Lord,  in  such  a  storm  ?  Yea,  surely  Thou  canst, 
for  Thou  art  Almighty,  and  if  Thou  hear  me  and 


286  JOSHUA. 

understand,  Thou  mayst,  if  Thou  wilt,  behold  with 
Thine  own  eyes  that  I  speak  truth.  Then  remem- 
ber, O  Lord,  and  fulfil  the  promise  Thou  hast  made 
to  Thy  people  by  the  mouth  of  Thy  servant  Moses. 

"  I  have  seen  treason  among  the  Egyptians,  and 
murder  and  base  cunning,  and  their  doings  have 
filled  me,  who  am  but  a  simple  lad,  with  rage  and 
horror.  And  how  shouldst  Thou  from  whom  all 
good  things  come,  and  whom  Miriam  names  as 
Truth  itself,  deal  with  us  even  as  those  accursed 
ones  do,  and  break  Thy  word  and  promise  to  Thy 
people  who  trust  in  Thee  ?  I  know,  O  Lord  most 
High,  that  this  is  far  from  Thee,  and  perhaps  it  is 
sin  only  to  think  of  it.  Hear  me,  Adonai !  Behold 
and  look  to  the  north  upon  the  hosts  of  Egypt, 
which  by  this  hour  are  leaving  their  camp  and  mov- 
ing on ;  look  to  the  south  upon  the  peril  of  Thy  peo- 
ple and  how  that  they  have  no  way  of  escape,  and 
save  and  deliver  them  by  the  help  of  Thy  might  and 
great  wisdom  ;  for  Thou  hast  promised  them  a  new 
land,  and  if  they  are  utterly  cut  off  how  may  they 
reach  it?" 

Thus  he  ended  his  guileless,  untutored  prayer,  but 
it  floAved  from  the  depths  of  his  heart. 

Then  he  sprang  away  from  the  heap  of  ruins 
with  wide  leaps,  across  the  desert  at  his  feet,  and 
ran  on  toAvards  the  south  as  swiftly  as  though  he 
were  again  fleeing  from  captivity.  He  felt  the  rush- 
ing blast  from  the  northeast  driving  him  on,  and 
thought  how  it  would  hasten  the  advance  of  Pha- 
raoh's foot  soldiers.  The  leaders  of  his  people  did 


JOSHUA.  287 

not  know  perhaps  how  vast  was  the  host  which 
threatened  them,  and  underestimated  the  danger  of 
their  position.  He  had  seen  it  and  could  give  them 
the  fullest  information.  But  he  must  hasten,  fly, 
and  he  felt  as  though  in  this  race  before  the  storm 
his  feet  had  really  got  wings. 

He  had  soon  reached  the  village  of  Pihahiroth, 
and  as  he  fled  through  it  without  pausing  for  an  in- 
stant, he  perceived  that  man  and  beast  had  deserted 
the  tents  and  dwellings.  The  inhabitants  had  no 
doubt  found  a  place  of  refuge  for  themselves  and 
their  belongings,  from  the  coming  army  or  from  the 
emigrant  Hebrews.  As  he  went  on,  the  clouds 
grew  darker,  though  rarely  indeed  was  the  sky  over- 
cast here  at  midday ;  and  the  wilder  blew  the  storm. 
His  thick  hair  flew  about  his  hot  head,  his  breath 
came  hard ;  still,  on  he  sped,  he  felt  as  if  his  feet 
scarcely  touched  the  ground  at  all. 

As  he  got  nearer  to  the  sea  the  blast  howled  and 
shrieked,  the  waves,  lashed  to  fury,  beat  in  thunder 
on  the  rocks  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Baal-Zephon. 
Now,  within  a  short  hour  after  leaving  the  ruins, 
he  had  reached  the  first  tents  of  the  encampment, 
and  the  familiar  cry  of  "  Unclean  ",  "  Unclean  ",  as 
well  as  the  mourning  garb  of  the  people  whose  dis- 
figured faces  looked  out  from  the  wreck  of  the  tents 
beaten  down  by  the  wind,  told  him  that  he  had  come 
upon  the  lepers'  quarters,  placed  by  Moses  out- 
side the  camp.  Still,  he  was  in  such  haste  that  he 
did  not  make  a  circuit,  but  ran  straight  on  at  his  ut 
most  speed.  Nor  did  he  pause  till  a  tall  palm-tree, 


288  JOSHUA. 

uprooted  by  the  blast,  came  to  the  ground  so  close 
to  him  that  its  tuft  of  leaves  swept  him  as  it  fell. 

At  last  he  was  among  the  tents  and  penfolds  of 
his  own  people,  and  many  of  these  had  likewise  been 
overturned. 

He  inquired  of  the  first  man  he  recognized  for 
Nun,  the  father  of  Joshua  and  of  his  deceased 
mother.  He  had  gone  to  the  seashore  with  Moses 
and  the  Elders  of  the  people,  and  Ephraim  followed 
him  thither,  the  moist  salt  air  refreshing  him  and 
cooling  his  brow,  yet  he  might  not  immediately 
speak  with  him,  so  he  collected  his  thoughts  and  re- 
covered his  breath,  while  he  watched  the  Elders 
who  were  in  discussion  with  a  party  of  gaily-clad 
Phoenician  boatmen. 

He,  being  so  much  younger,  was  forbidden  to  dis- 
turb the  venerable  leaders  of  the  people  in  their 
council,  which  evidently  had  refereuce  to  the  sea, 
for  the  Hebrews  were  pointing  to  the  head  of  the 
bay,  and  the  Phoenicians  Avaved  their  hands  now 
towards  the  mountain  and  now  to  the  sea,  or  the 
sky,  or  the  north,  whence  came  the  still  increasing 
storm. 

A  jutting  wall  sheltered  the  party  of  Elders  from 
the  hurricane,  and  yet  they  had  great  difficulty  in 
keeping  their  feet,  with  the  help  of  their  staves  and 
the  stone-work  behind  them. 

At  last  the  discussion  came  to  an  end  ;  the  lad  saw 
the  gigantically  tall  figure  of  Moses  slowly  and  ma- 
jestically go  down  to  the  edge  of  the  sea  with  some 
other  leaders  of  the  Hebrews,  while  Nun,  supported 


JOSHUA.  289 

by  one  of  his  herdsmen,  toiled  back  to  the  camp 
against  the  wind  with  what  speed  he  might.  He 
wore  a  mourning  robe,  and  whereas  the  others  looked 
glad  and  hopeful  as  they  parted,  his  handsome  face, 
with  its  crown  and  beard  of  white  hair,  wore  a  look 
of  crushing  and  heartbreaking  grief.  When  Eph- 
raim  spoke  his  name,  he  raised  his  bent  head  and  see- 
ing the  lad  before  him,  tottered  backwards  with  sur- 
prise and  misgiving,  clinging  tightly  to  the  stalwart 
arm  which  upheld  him.  News  had  been  sent  to  him 
of  his  son's  and  his  grandson's  terrible  fate,  from 
the  freed  slaves  he  had  left  behind  him  in  Tanis. 
The  old  man  had  rent  his  garments,  had  strewn 
ashes  on  his  head  and  put  on  mourning  raiment,  and 
broken  his  heart  for  his  beloved  and  noble  son  and 
his  promising  young  grandson ! 

Now  Ephraim  was  before  him  in  the  flesh ;  and 
when  he  had  laid  his  hand  on  the  lad's  shoulder  and 
kissed  him  again  and  again,  he  inquired  whether 
his  son  too  was  still  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and 
remembered  him  and  his  people.  As  soon  as  the 
youth  had  assured  him  that  he  did,  Nun  laid  his 
arm  across  his  shoulders  that  he,  his  own  flesh  and 
blood  and  no  stranger,  might  shield  him  from  the 
violence  of  the  storm. 

He  had  a  solemn  and  imperative  duty  to  perform, 
from  which  no  man  might  hinder  him,  but  when  the 
eager  youth  shouted  in  his  ear  above  the  roar  of  the 
hurricane,  as  they  went  back  to  the  camp,  that  he 
meant  to  gather  together  his  shepherds  and  the 
young  men  of  his  tribe  to  rescue  Hosea,  who  was 
19 


290  JOSHUA. 

now  called  Joshua,  the  patriarch's  vehement  vigor 
was  stirred,  and  clasping  his  grandson  to  his  heart, 
he  exclaimed  that,  old  as  he  was,  yet  was  he  not  too 
old  to  wield  an  axe  and  go  forth  with  the  young 
ones  to  deliver  his  son.  And  his  eyes  flashed 
through  tears,  while,  with  the  arm  that  was  free,  he 
appealed  to  Heaven  crying  : — 

"  The  God  of  my  fathers  in  whom  I  have  learned 
to  trust  watches  over  the  faithful ! — Do  you  see  the 
sand  over  there  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  the  seaweed 
and  the  shells  ?  Only  an  hour  ago  that  was  covered 
by  water,  foaming  waves  were  dancing  over  the 
spot.  That,  boy,  is  the  way  deliverance  lies  ;  if  this 
wind  holds,  the  tide  will  ebb  further  still  so  the 
Phoenician  seamen  assure  us.  Their  god  of  the 
north  wind,  they  say,  is  favorable  to  us,  and  their 
youths  have  lighted  a  fire  to  the  god  up  there  on  the 
heights  of  Baal-Zephon,  But  we  know  that  it  is  an- 
other God  who  hath  opened  a  way  for  us  into  the 
desert.  We  were  in  sore  straits,  my  son." 

"  Yes,  grandfather,"  cried  the  boy.  "  You  were 
as  a  lion  in  a  pitfall,  and  the  Egyptian  host  is 
mighty  and  unconquerable ;  every  man  of  that  host 
have  I  seen  march  past  from  the  first  even  to  the 
last.  I  flew  as  fast  as  my  feet  might  bear  me  to  tell 
you  all  how  many  heavy  troops,  archers,  horses  and 
chariots — 

"  We  know  it,  we  know  it !  "  interrupted  the  old 
man.  "  But  here  we  are  ! "  and  he  pointed  to  a  tent 
completely  blown  in  which  some  serving  men  were 
endeavoring  to  prop  up,  and  close  to  it  sat  a  very 


JOSHUA.  291 

old  Hebrew  in  a  litter,  Elishama,  the  father  of  Nun 
wrapped  in  many  robes. 

Nun  eagerly  spoke  a  few  words  to  him  and  led 
Ephraim  forward.  And  then,  while  the  lad  fell  on 
his  great-grandfather's  neck  to  be  caressed  and  em- 
braced, Nun  spoke  with  quite  youthful  spirit  to  the 
herdsmen  and  servants : — 

"  Let  the  tent  fall,  men  !  The  storm  has  only 
done  your  task  for  you!  Wrap  the  canvas  about 
the  poles,  load  the  carts  and  beasts.  Hasten  now, 
you,  Gad,  Samma,  Jacob  ;  help  the  others.  The 
hour  of  our  departing  is  at  hand.  Each  man  make 
haste  to  harness  the  beasts,  saddle  and  load  the  asses 
with  all  speed.  The  Lord  hath  opened  a  way  for  us. 
In  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  by  the  commands 
of  Moses,  each  must  make  ready  for  departing. 
Every  man  keep  to  the  old  order.  We  march  first 
at  the  head  of  the  host ;  then  come  the  other  tribes, 
and  after  them  the  strangers ;  last  of  all  the  lepers 
and  unclean.  Rejoice  all  ye  people,  for  our  God  is 
working  a  great  wonder  and  making  the  sea  dry 
land  for  us,  His  chosen  people.  Give  thanks  to  Him 
while  you  labor,  and  entreat  Him  from  the  bottom 
of  your  hearts,  that  He  will  ever  protect  us.  He 
who  would  not  perish  at  the  edge  of  the  sword  or  be 
crushed  under  the  wheels  of  Pharaoh's  chariots,  let 
him  put  forth  his  strength  and  forget  to  rest.  We 
shall  find  rest  as  soon  as  we  have  escaped  from  this 
peril.  Give  me  the  tent  cloth  ;  I  will  roll  it  up  my- 
self. And  do  your  part,  boy.  See  the  children  of 
Mauasseh  yonder,  they  are  packing  and  loading ! 


JOSHUA. 

Well  done,  Ephraim,  you  know  how  to  use  your 
hands !  But  there  is  yet  much  to  be  done.  And 
my  old  head  forgets.  So  much  has  come  upon  me 
at  once  ! — Here,  Kaphu,  you  have  swift  legs  ;  I 
took  it  upon  me  to  give  warning  in  the  camp  of  the 
strangers.  Hasten  to  them  and  bid  them  speed  their 
departing,  that  they  be  not  too  far  behind  the  people 
of  Israel.  Time  is  precious !  O  Lord  our  God, 
shelter  Thy  people  with  Thy  protecting  hand  and 
drive  the  waters  further  and  further  back  with  the 
storm  which  is  Thy  mighty  breath  ! — The  Almighty 
and  All-Knowing  God,  who  sees  into  our  hearts, 

shall  hear That  is  too  heavy  a  burthen  for  you, 

Ephraim,  you  will  hurt  yourself —No !  the  boy  is 
a  strong  boy.  Do  as  he  does,  and  ye  of  Succoth, 
rejoice  in  the  strength  of  your  young  master  !  " 

The  last  words  were  addressed  to  Ephraim's  shep- 
herds, serving-men  and  women,  most  of  whom  had 
greeted  him  in  the  midst  of  their  toil,  had  kissed  his 
hand  or  his  arm,  and  been  glad  at  his  home-coming. 
They  were  packing  and  loading,  folding  and  fitting 
and  getting  the  beasts  together  which  had  been 
scared  by  the  storm,  with  many  blows  and  much 
outcry. 

The  men  of  Succoth  were  zealous  to  imitate  their 
young  master,  those  from  Tanis  to  serve  their  master's 
grandson ;  the  other  herd-owners  and  humbler  folk 
of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  whose  tents  had  clustered 
round  that  of  Nun,  their  Elder,  were  all  no  less  eager ; 
and  yet  it  was  some  hours  before  all  the  tents,  the 
house-gear  and  the  victuals  for  man  and  beast  had 


JOSHUA.  293 

found  a  place  in  the  carts  or  on  the  beasts  of  burden, 
and  the  old,  the  sick,  and  the  feeble  were  laid  in 
litters  and  chariots  once  more. 

The  wild  wind  now  and  then  brought  up  the 
sound  of  Moses'  deep  voice,  or  Aaron's  lighter  tdnes, 
to  the  spot  where  the  Ephrairaites  were  bus}7. 
Neither  they  nor  the  sons  of  Judah  needed  this  to 
spur  them ;  for  Hur  and  Nahshon  commanded  these 
last,  and  by  the  side  of  Hur  stood  Miriam,  his  new- 
ly wedded  wife.  With  the  other  tribes  and  the 
strangers  it  was  otherwise ;  and  the  stiff-necked  and 
cowardly  conduct  of  their  leaders  had  resulted  in 
much  misery  and  confusion. 


294  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

IT  had  been  found  to  be  impossible  to  break 
through  the  frontier  lines  of  Etham  and  follow  the 
nearest  road  to  Palestine  in  a  north-easterly  direc- 
tion ;  and  the  second  plan  proposed  by  Moses — that 
they  should  march  round  Migdol  of  the  South,  had 
likewise  failed,  for  spies  had  reported  that  the  gar- 
rison there  had  been  strongly  reinforced.  Hereupon 
the  multitude  had  assembled  round  the  man  of  God 
and  had  declared  that  sooner  would  they  return  home 
with  all  their  families,  and  appeal  to  Pharaoh's 
mercy,  than  suffer  themselves,  their  wives  and  their 
children,  to  be  butchered. 

For  many  days  it  had  been  necessary  to  keep 
them  back,  but  when  fresh  messengers  brought  word 
that  Pharaoh  was  coming  down  on  them  with  a 
mighty  host,  the  time  seemed  to  be  at  hand  when 
the  Hebrews,  who  were  now  in  the  greatest  peril, 
must  be  urged  to  force  their  way  onward.  Moses  had 
exerted  the  full  weight  of  his  commanding  individ- 
uality, and  Aaron  all  the  powers  of  his  persuasive  elo 
quence,  while  old  Nun  and  Hur  had  striven  to  infuse 
some  of  their  own  fiery  spirit  into  the  rest.  But  the 
terrifying  tidings  had  broken  the  last  remnant  of 
courage  and  faith  in  most  of  the  people,  and  they 
had  already  determined  to  send  word  to  Pharaoh  of 


JOSHUA.  295 

their  repentance ;  but  the  messenger  whom  they  had 
despatched  turned  back  declaring  that  the  approach- 
ing army  had  orders  not  to  spare  a  single  Hebrew, 
but  to  teach  even  those  who  should  pray  for  mercy, 
at  the  point  of  the  sword,  how  Pharaoh  would  pun- 
ish those  who,  by  their  magic  arts,  had  brought  death 
and  misery  on  so  many  Egyptians.  Thus  had  they 
learned  too  late  that  their  return  would  lead  them  to 
destruction  no  less  surely  than  a  bold  advance. 
But  when,  on  this,  the  fighting  men,  led  by  Hurand 
Nun,  had  proceeded  almost  as  far  as  Migdol  of  the 
South,  they  had  turned  and  fled  at  the  loud  blast  of 
the  Egyptian  trumpets ;  and  by  the  time  they  re- 
turned to  the  camp,  weary,  dispirited  and  wroth, 
fresh  and  exaggerated  reports  of  the  might  of  Pha- 
raoh's host  had  been  brought  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
mortal  fear  and  despair  had  fallen  on  even  the  brav- 
est. Exhortation  was  cast  to  the  winds;  threats 
were  laughed  to  scorn ;  and  the  rebellious  multitude 
had  forced  their  leaders  onward  till  they  had  reached 
the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  its  deep  green  waters 
compelled  them  to  give  up  all  further  flight  to  the 
southward.  So  the  people  had  encamped  between 
Pihahiroth  and  Baal-Zephon,  and  here,  once  more, 
their  chief  had  called  upon  them  in  the  name  of  the 
God  of  their  fathers.  In  the  face  of  certain  destruc- 
tion, from  which  no  human  power  could  save  them, 
they  had  been  brought  to  lift  their  eyes  to  Heaven 
again ;  and  in  the  soul  of  Moses  pity  and  sympathy 
had  revived  more  strongly  for  the  hapless  and  much 
tried  people  who  had  come  forth  at  his  bidding. 


296  JOSHUA. 

During  the  past  night  he  had  gone  up  into  the  moun- 
tain of  Baal-Zephon,  and  there,  amid  the  roaring  of 
the  storm  and  hissing  flame  of  the  lightning,  he 
had  sought  and  found  communion  with  the  Lord. 
And  he  had  not  wearied  of  laying  before  Him  the 
evil  plight  of  His  people  and  beseeching  Him  to  de- 
liver them. 

In  that  same  hour  had  Miriam,  the  wife  of  Hur, 
gone  down  to  the  seashore  to  entreat  the  Lord  like- 
wise under  a  solitary  palm-tree,  for  still  she  felt  her- 
self His  chosen  handmaid.  She  besought  Him  for 
the  women  and  children,  whose  trust  in  Him  had 
brought  them  to  this  pass.  And  she  would  fain  have 
prayed  for  the  friend  of  her  youth  who  was  now  pin- 
ing in  fearful  captivity  ;  but  as  she  fell  on  her  knees 
she  could  only  say  in  a  subdued  and  broken  voice  : 

"  Forget  not  thou  Hosea,  whom  I  at  Thy  word 
named  Joshua,  albeit  he  hath  been  less  obedient  to 
Thy  call  than  Moses  my  brother  or  Hur  my  hus- 
band !  Forget  not  either  young  Ephraim,  the  grand- 
son of  thy  faithful  servant  ]STun." 

Then  she  went  back  to  her  husband's  tent,  a  chiefs 
tent,  while  many  a  humbler  man,  and  many  a  poor 
terrified  woman  of  the  people,  outside  their  wretched 
shelter  or  lying  on  a  thin  mat  wet  with  tears,  up- 
lifted an  anxious  heart  to  the  God  of  their  fathers 
and  commended  to  His  care  those  whom  they  loved 
best.  Thus,  in  this  night  of  sorest  need,  the  camp 
was  a  temple,  in  which  high  and  low,  chief  and 
mother,  master  and  slave,  nay,  even  the  afflicted 
leper,  sought  and  found  the  Lord. 


JOSHUA.  297 

At  last  the  morning  had  dawned  when  Ephraim 
had  shouted  his  child-like  prayer  down  the  storm, 
and  the  sea  was  beginning  to  retire. 

Then,  when  they  beheld  with  their  own  eyes  the 
miracle  which  the  Most  High  had  wrought  for  his 
chosen  people,  the  most  despairing  and  fearful  be- 
came so  many  glad  and  hopeful  believers.  Not 
among  the  sons  of  Ephraim  only,  but  among  all  the 
tribes,  nay,  and  among  the  strangers  and  unclean, 
their  newly  awakened  and  joyful  confidence  moved 
each  one  to  prepare  with  all  his  strength  for  future 
journeying,  and  for  the  first  time  the  multitude  as- 
sembled without  strife  or  jealousy,  without  fighting, 
curses  and  tears. 

After  sunset,  Moses,  staff  in  hand,  and  Aaron, 
singing  and  praying,  led  the  way  to  the  head  of  the 
gulf.  The  storm,  which  was  raging  as  wildly  as 
ever,  had  swept  back  the  waters,  and  bore  down  the 
flames  and  smoke  of  the  torches  which  were  carried 
at  the  head  of  each  tribe,  from  northeast  to  south- 
west. 

Next  to  the  two  great  leaders,  on  whom  every 
eye  was  fixed  with  eager  anticipation,  Nun  marched 
with  the  children  of  Ephraim.  The  sea-bottom  on 
which  they  trod  was  firm,  damp  sand,  on  which  even 
the  cattle  could  safely  cross  as  on  a  smooth  high- 
way, gently  sloping  towards  the  sea.  Ephraim,  who 
was  regarded  by  his  elders  as  the  future  head  of  his 
tribe,  had,  by  his  grandfather's  desire,  undertaken  to 
be  careful  that  the  train  of  men  and  beasts  should 
not  come  to  a  standstill,  and  to  this  end  he  had  been 


298  JOSHUA. 

entrusted  with  a  chief's  staff.  The  fishermen  who 
dwelt  in  the  huts  which  clustered  at  the  foot  of 
Baal-Zephon  agreed  with  the  Phoenician  seamen  in 
saying  that,  as  soon  as  the  moon  had  reached  the 
zenith,  the  waters  would  rise  again  to  their  old 
place,  so  no  delay  could  be  allowed.  The  lad  gloried 
in  the  storm,  and  as  his  hair  blew  about  his  face, 
and  he  fought  against  the  wind  while  he  hurried  to 
and  fro  in  fulfilment  of  his  task,  this  felt  to  him  as  a 
foretaste  of  the  great  enterprise  he  had  in  his  mind. 
Thus  matters  sped  through  the  darkness  which 
quickly  followed  on  the  twilight.  The  strong  smell 
of  the  seaweed  and  fish  left  on  dry  land  was  pleas- 
anter  to  the  youth,  who  now  felt  himself  a  man  in- 
deed, than  the  sweet  perfume  of  nard  in  Kasana's 
tent.  Once  the  thought  of  her  flashed  through  his 
mind ;  but  indeed,  during  these  times,  he  had  had  no 
time  to  think  of  her.  His  hands  were  quite  full ; 
here  the  seaweed  must  be  cleared  aside  which  a 
wave  had  left  in  the  way  ;  there  the  ram  of  a  flock 
which  hesitated  to  set  foot  on  the  moist  ground, 
must  be  seized  by  the  horns  and  dragged  forward, 
or  the  oxen  and  beasts  of  burthen  driven  through  a 
pool  they  were  shy  of.  Many  times  he  had  to  lend 
a  shoulder  to  lift  a  heavily  laden  cart  of  which  the 
wheels  had  sunk  in  the  soft  sand,  and  when,  just  as 
they  were  starting  on  this  strange  and  momentous 
journey,  even  on  the  Egyptian  shore,  a  dispute  arose 
between  two  herdsmen  as  to  which  should  have  the 
lead,  he  promptly  settled  by  lot  which  was  to  go 
forward  and  which  to  follow.  Two  little  girls  were 


JOSHUA.  299 

crying  and  refusing  to  cross  a  pool,  while  their 
mother's  arms  were  occupied  with  her  infant ;  he 
picked  them  up  with  swift  decision  and  carried 
them  across  the  shallow  lakelet ;  and  when  a  wheel 
came  off  one  of  the  wagons,  he  immediately  had  it 
dragged  out  of  the  way,  and  by  the  light  of  the 
torches  he  made  some  of  the  serfs  who  were  least 
heavily  laden  carry  each  a  sack  or  a  bale,  nay  and 
even  pieces  of  the  broken  vehicle.  He  had  comfort- 
ing words  for  weeping  women  and  children,  and  if 
the  flare  of  a  torch  showed  him  the  face  of  some 
youth  of  his  own  age,  whose  aid  he  hoped  to  secure 
for  liberating  Joshua,  he  hinted  to  him  in  a  few 
spirited  words  that  he  had  a  bold  deed  in  prospect 
which  he  purposed  to  achieve  with  the  help  of  his 
friend. 

The  incense  bearers,  who  had  hitherto  led  the 
way,  on  this  occasion  closed  the  march,  for  the  wind 
blowing  from  the  northeast  Avould  have  driven  the 
smoke  in  the  face  of  the  people.  They  stood  on  the 
Egyptian  shore,  and  soon  all  the  multitude  had 
passed  them  by,  excepting  only  the  strangers  and 
the  lepers  who  came  last  of  all.  The  foreigners  were 
indeed  a  motley  host,  consisting  of  Asiatics  of  Sem- 
itic blood,  who  were  fleeing  from  the  forced  labor 
and  cruel  punishmeuts  which  were  inflicted  on  them 
by  the  law  of  Egypt ;  of  dealers,  who  had  found 
buyers  for  their  wares  among  the  thousands  of 
wanderers ;  and  even  of  Shasoo  shepherds  who  had 
been  hindered  from  crossing  the  frontier  on  their 
return  home.  With  these  Ephraim  had  much 


300  JOSHUA. 

trouble,  for  they  refused  to  leave  the  dry  land  until 
the  lepers  had  been  enjoined  to  remain  at  a  greater 
distance  from  them  ;  but  even  they  were  brought  to 
submission  by  Ephraim  with  the  help  of  the  chief  of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  which  marched  last  in  front 
of  them  ;  for  he  warned  them  of  the  prophecy  of  the 
Phoenician  and  fisherman,  that  the  moon  as  it  sank 
would  bring  the  sea  back  to  its  old  bed.  Finally  he 
persuaded  the  leader  of  the  lepers,  an  intelligent 
Egyptian  who  had  been  a  priest,  to  maintain  at  least 
half  the  distance  that  was  demanded. 

Meanwhile  the  tempest  continued  to  rage  with 
increasing  fury  ;  the  roar  and  long-drawn  shrieks  of 
the  wind,  mingling  with  the  thunder  of  the  breakers 
and  the  duller  moan  of  the  surf,  drowned  the  shouts 
of  command,  the  wailing  of  the  women,  the  bellow- 
ing and  bleating  of  the  trembling  beasts  and  the 
whining  of  the  dogs.  Ephraim's  voice  was  audible 
only  to  those  nearest  to  him ;  many  torches  were 
extinguished  and  the  rest  kept  alight  with  difficulty. 
At  length,  when  for  some  short  space  he  had  been 
walking  behind  the  last  of  the  lepers,  going  slowly 
to  recover  his  breath  and  get  a  little  rest,  he  heard 
his  name  called  from  the  rear,  and  turning  round 
beheld  an  old  playmate  who  was  returning  from 
spying  the  enemy,  and  who,  seeing  the  leader's  staff 
in  the  lad's  hand,  shouted  in  his  ear  with  panting 
gasps  that  Pharaoh's  chariots  were  coming  on  in  the 
rear  of  the  Egyptian  host.  He  had  left  them  by 
Pihahiroth,  and  if  they  had  not  waited  to  let  the 
other  troops  come  up  with  them,  they  might  at  any 


JOSHUA.  301 

moment  overtake  the  fugitives.  Thereupon  he  again 
pressed  on  to  reach  the  leaders  of  the  multitude. 
But  Ephraim  stood  still  a  moment  in  the  middle  of 
the  way,  with  his  hand  held  to  his  brow ;  and  great 
anxiety  came  down  on  his  soul.  He  knew  full  well 
that  the  approaching  army  Avould  overrun  the  women 
and  children  whom  he  had  just  seen  in  all  their 
pathetic  terror  and  helplessness,  as  a  man  treads 
down  a  file  of  ants ;  and  again  all  his  impulses  urged 
him  to  prayer  and  from  the  depths  of  his  oppressed 
heart  the  imploring  cry  went  up  into  the  night : 

"Eli!  Eli!  great  God  on  High !  Thou  kno  west, 
for  I  have  told  thee,  and  Thine  all-seeing  eye  must 
behold  in  spite  of  the  blackness  of  the  night,  how 
sorely  Thy  people  are  beset  whom  thou  hast  prom- 
ised to  lead  into  a  new  land.  Remember  Thy 
word,  O  Jehovah!  Be  gracious  unto  us,  God 
Almighty  !  Our  foe  is  upon  us  with  irresistible 
might!  stay  his  steps!  Save  us!  Deliver  the 
women  and  children !  Save  us  and  be  merciful  to 
us ! " 

As  he  prayed  he  had  fixed  his  eyes  on  high  and 
had  espied  the  ruddy  blaze  of  a  fire  on  Baal-Zephon. 
This  had  been  lighted  by  the  Phoenicians  to  pro- 
pitiate the  Baal  of  the  north  wind  in  favor  of  the 
kindred  race  of  Hebrews,  and  against  the  hated 
Egyptian  nation. 

This  was  friendly  ;  but  he  put  his  trust  in  another 
God,  and  as  he  glanced  again  at  tne  vaults  of  Heaven 
over  which  the  black  rack  raced  and  gathered  and 
divided  again,  and  swept  to  and  fro,  he  descried. 


302  JOSHUA. 

between  the  parting  clouds,  the  silver  beam  of  the 
full  moon  already  at  its  meridian.  And  fresh  terror 
came  upon  him,  for  he  remembered  the  predictions 
of  the  weather-wise  seamen.  If  the  flood  should  at 
this  moment  return  to  its  bed,  his  people  were 
doomed,  for  to  the  north  of  the  gulf,  where  deep 
pools  lay  amid  rocks  and  slimy  mud  there  was  no 
escape.  If,  within  an  hour,  the  waters  should  rise, 
the  seed  of  Abraham  would  cease  from  the  face 
of  the  earth  as  writing  on  a  wax  tablet  vanishes  at 
the  pressure  of  a  warm  hand. 

But  was  not  this  people,  doomed  to  destruction, 
the  same  which  the  Lord  had  called  to  be  His  own  ? 
And  could  He  give  them  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy 
which  was  His  enemy  also  ? 

No  !  a  thousand  times,  no ! 

And  the  moon  which  was  to  cause  the  disaster  had 
but  a  short  time  since  aided  his  flight  and  been  his 
friend.  He  could  only  hope  and  believe,  and  cling 
to  his  trust  in  God. 

And  as  yet  nothing  was  lost,  not  a  single  soul. 
If  it  came  to  the  worst,  the  whole  nation  would  not 
be  destroyed ;  his  own  tribe  which  led  the  way, 
least  of  all ;  by  this  time  many  must  have  reached 
the  further  shore,  more,  probably,  than  he  thought ; 
for  the  little  bay  was  narrow,  and  even  the  lepers, 
the  last  of  the  multitude,  had  already  gone  some 
distance  over  the  moist  sand. 

He  lingered  behind  every  one  to  listen  for  the 
coming  of  the  enemy's  chariots.  On  the  shore  of 
the  gulf  he  laid  his  ear  to  the  ground ;  and  he  could 


JOSHUA.  303 

trust  the  sharpness  of  his  hearing,  for  in  this  attitude 
he  had  often  detected  the  distant  tramp  of  beasts 
that  had  gone  astray,  or,  when  out  hunting,  had 
heard  the  approach  of  a  herd  of  antelopes  or  ga- 
zelles. 

He,  being  the  last,  was  in  the  greatest  danger, 
but  what  matter  for  that  ?  How  gladly  would  he 
have  given  his  young  life  to  save  the  rest ! 

Since  he  had  carried  a  chief's  staff  he  felt  that  he 
had  taken  upon  himself  the  duty  of  watching  over 
his  people ;  so  he  listened  and  listened,  till  at  last  he 
perceived  a  scarce  audible  thrill  in  the  earth  and  then 
a  faint  rumbling.  This  was  the  foe ;  this  must  be 
Pharaoh's  chariots ;  and  how  swiftly  were  the  proud 
steeds  rushing  on ! 

He  started  to  his  feet  as  though  a  whip  had  stung 
him,  and  flew  onward  to  overtake  the  rest. 

How  oppressively  sultry  the  air  had  become,  in 
spite  of  the  raging  gale  which  had  extinguished  so 
many  of  the  torches !  The  clouds  hid  the  moon,  but 
the  dancing  fire  on  the  highest  peak  of  Baal-Zephon 
shone  broader  and  brighter.  The  sparks  which  it 
cast  up  flew  scurrying  to  westward,  for  the  wind 
was  veering  to  the  east.  No  sooner  did  he  perceive 
this  than  he  hastened  back  to  the  youths  who  car- 
ried the  censers  behind  the  procession,  and  com- 
manded them,  in  breathless  haste,  to  refill  the  cop- 
per vessels,  and  take  care  that  the  vapor  rose  thick  ; 
for  he  said  to  himself  that  the  wind  would  blow  it 
into  the  faces  of  the  horses  and  make  them  refrac- 
tory or  stop  them.  No  means  seemed  to  him  too 


304  JOSHUA. 

humble,  every  moment  gained  was  precious,  and 
as  soon  as  he  had  seen  that  the  smoke  from  the  cen- 
sers was  spreading  in  choking  clouds  over  the  track 
left  by  the  advancing  multitude,  he  ran  on  again, 
warning  the  elders  as  he  came  up  with  them  that 
Pharaoh's  chariots  were  not  far  behind,  and  that  the 
people  must  hasten  their  march.  Forthwith  the 
host  on  foot,  the  bearers,  leaders  and  herdsmen, 
collected  their  strength  to  proceed  faster,  and  al- 
though the  wind  was  every  moment  more  decidedly 
against  them,  hindering  their  progress,  they  battled 
with  it  valiantly,  and  the  fear  of  their  pursuers 
doubled  their  energies. 

The  lad  was  like  a  sheep-dog  watching  and  driv- 
ing the  flock,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  looked 
kindly  on  him  wherever  he  was  to  be  seen  ;  and  as 
he  made  his  way  among  the  marching  host,  fighting 
onwards  against  the  blast,  the  east  wind  brought  a 
strange  cry  to  his  ears  as  the  reward  of  his  efforts. 
The  nearer  he  came  to  it  the  louder  it  rose,  and  the 
more  sure  he  was  that  it  was  a  shout  of  triumph  and 
gladness,  the  first  that  he  had  been  raised  by  Hebrew 
voices  for  many  a  long  day.  It  revived  the  youth 
like  a  cool  draught  after  a  long  thirst,  and  he  could 
not  refrain  from  shouting  aloud  and  hailing  those 
behind  with  a  cry  of  "  Saved !  Saved !  " 

Several  of  the  tribes  had  already  reached  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  gulf ;  it  was  they  who  sent  up 
the  shout  of  joy  which,  with  the  beacon  fires  they 
lighted  along  the  shore,  gave  the  rear  of  the  host 
fresh  courage  and  renewed  their  flagging  strength. 


JOSHUA.  305 

By  the  light  of  the  blaze  he  saw  the  majestic  figure 
of  Moses  on  a  hillock  by  the  shore,  stretching  out 
his  staff  towards  the  waters;  and  this  image  was 
stamped  on  his  mind  as  on  that  of  every  soul  pres- 
ent, great  and  small,  more  deeply  than  any  other, 
and  inflamed  the  confidence  in  his  heart.  This  man 
was  verily  the  friend  of  God,  and  so  long  as  he 
should  hold  up  his  staff  the  waves  were  spell-bound, 
and  the  Lord  by  His  servant  forbade  them  to  return  ! 

Ephraim  need  no  more  appeal  to  the  Most  High ; 
this  was  in  the  hands  of  His  great  and  sublime  ser- 
vant. But  his  own  lesser  duty  of  urging  on  one 
and  another  to  the  goal,  he  still  must  fulfil. 

Back  he  flew  to  the  lepers  and  the  incense  bearers, 
aud  to  each  division  he  shouted  aloud,  "  Saved ! 
Saved  !  Hasten  forward !  The  rod  of  Moses  holds 
the  waters  back!  Many  have  reached  the  shore! 
Praise  the  Lord !  Forward!  forward!  and  you  too 
may  join  the  song !  Fix  your  eyes  on  those  two 
red  fires!  They  were  kindled  by  those  who  are 
delivered ;  between  them  stands  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  uplifting  his  staff." 

Then  he  again  laid  his  ear  to  the  ground,  kneeling 
on  the  wet  sand,  and  he  heard  quite  near  the  rattle 
of  wheels  and  the  heavy  tramp  of  horses.  But  even 
while  he  listened  the  sound  gradually  ceased,  and  he 
heard  nothing  but  the  howling  of  the  storm  and  the 
ominous  beating  of  the  wild  waves,  or  a  cry  now 
and  then  borne  down  on  the  east  wind. 

The  chariots  had  reached  the  shore  of  the  dry 
bed  of  the  gulf,  and  paused  some  little  while,  hesitat- 
20 


306  JOSHUA. 

ing  before  they  started  on  so  perilous  a  passage ; 
then  suddenly  the  Egyptian  war-cry  rang  out,  and 
again  he  heard  the  rolling  wheels.  It  came  on  more 
slowly  than  before,  but  yet  faster  than  the  Israelites 
could  march. 

For  the  Egyptians  too  the  way  lay  open ;  but, 
though  his  people  had  but  a  small  start,  he  need  no 
longer  fear  for  them ;  all  was  not  lost ;  those  who 
had  reached  the  shore  could  scatter  themselves 
during  the  night  among  the  mountain  solitudes, 
and  ensconce  themselves  in  spots  where  no  chariots 
could  pursue  them.  Moses  knew  the  land  in  which 
he  had  long  dwelt  as  a  fugitive.  The  only  thing 
was  to  warn  him  of  the  approach  of  the  foe.  So  he 
charged  a  comrade  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  with 
the  message,  for  the  distance  was  no  longer  very 
great,  while  he  stayed  behind  to  watch  the  coming  of 
the  host.  Without  stooping  to  listen,  and  in  spite 
of  the  gale  which  blew  the  sound  from  him,  he 
could  already  hear  the  clatter  of  the  chariots  and 
neighing  'of  the  horses.  The  lepers,  however,  who 
likewise  heard  the  noise,  bewailed  and  wept,  fancy- 
ing themselves  already  trodden  under  foot  or  swal- 
lowed by  the  cold  dark  waters;  for  the  way  was 
fast  shrinking,  and  the  sea  was  greedy  to  recover 
the  ground  it  had  abandoned.  Man  and  beast  were 
forced  to  march  in  a  narrower  file,  and  while  the 
hurrying  troops  packed  closer  and  closer  they  also 
stretched  out  longer,  and  precious  moments  were 
lost.  Those  who  walked  on  the  right  hand  side 
were  wading  through  the  encroaching  waves,  in 


JOSHUA.  307 

haste  and  terror,  for  already  behind  them  they 
could  hear  in  the  distance  the  Egyptian  words  of 
command. 

But  the  enemy  was  evidently  delayed,  and  Ephraim 
easily  understood  what  caused  their  diminished  speed. 
The  ground  grew  softer  at  every  step,  and  the  narrow 
wheels  of  the  war-chariots  must  sink  deep  in  it,  even 
to  the  axles. 

Under  cover  of  the  darkness  he  crept  back  as 
near  as  he  dared  to  the  pursuing  host,  and  he  could 
hear  now  an  oath  and  now  an  angry  order  to  use 
the  lash  more  freely  ;  and  at  last  one  driver  saying 
to  his  neighbor : 

"  What  cursed  folly !  If  they  had  suffered  us  to 
set  out  before  noon  instead  of  waiting  till  the  omens 
had  been  read  and  Annas  solemnly  installed  in  the 
place  of  Baie,  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter 
enough,  and  we  should  have  trapped  them  like  a 
covey  of  quails.  The  High  Priest  has  shown  his 
valor  on  the  field  before  this,  and  now  he  gives  up 
the  leadership  because  a  dying  woman  has  touched 
his  heart ! " 

"  Siptah's  mother ! "  another  put  in.  "  Still  you 
are  right ;  twenty  princesses  ought  not  to  have 
turned  him  away  from  his  duty  to  us.  If  he  had 
stayed  by  us  we  should  not  have  had  to  flay  our  jades 
alive,  and  at  an  hour  too  when  any  prudent  Captain 
leaves  his  men  to  rest  by  the  camp-fire  over  their 
supper  and  their  game  of  draughts. — Go  to  the 
horses'  heads,  man  !  we  are  sunk  in  the  sand  again ! " 

Thereupon  a  loud  outcry  arose  behind  the  fore- 


308  JOSHUA. 

most  chariot,  and  Ephraim  could  hear  another  voice 
exclaiming : 

"  Get  on  there,  if  the  horses  die  for  it ! " 

"If  retreat  were  possible,"  said  the  chief  Captain 
of  the  war  chariots,  a  relative  of  Pharaoh's,  *  even 
now  I  would  turn  about.  But  as  it  is  we  should  all 
tumble  over  each  other.  Go  forward,  cost  what  it 
may.  We  are  close  on  their  heels — Halt !  Halt ! 
Curses  on  that  pungent  smoke !  Ah !  wait,  only  wait, 
you  dogs !  As  soon  as  the  road  opens  out  a  little 
we  will  get  round  you,  and  may  the  gods  shorten  my 
life  by  a  day  for  every  soul  I  leave  alive ; — Another 
torch  out.  I  cannot  see  my  hand  before  my  face. 
A  beggar's  stick  would  be  more  to  the  purpose  than 
a  commander's  staff." 

"  And  a  gallows  rope  about  our  necks  instead  of 
a  gold  chain,"  cried  another.  "  If  only  the  moon 
would  come  out !  It  was  because  the  horoscope 
promised  that  it  would  shine  full  from  evening  till 
dawn  that  I  voted  for  the  late  march,  turning  night 
into  day.  If  only  it  were  not  so  dark  I— 

But  the  sentence  remained  unfinished,  for  a  blast, 
rushing  down  from  the  south-eastern  gorges  of  Baal- 
Zephon  like  a  roaring  beast  of  pray,  swept  over  the 
speakers,  and  a  rolling  wave  wetted  Ephraim  through 
and  through.  He  shook  back  his  hair  and  dried 
his  eyes  as  he  recovered  his  breath ;  but  behind  a 
loud  cry  of  terror  went  up  from  the  Egyptians,  for 
the  surge  that  had  but  drenched  him  had  swept  the 
foremost  chariots  into  the  sea.  At  this  the  lad  began 
to  be  alarmed  for  his  people,  and  he  flew  forward ; 


JOSHUA.  309 

but  as  lie  started  a  flash  of  lightning  showed  him 
the  gulf,  the  mountain,  and  the  shore.  The  thunder 
did  not  immediately  follow,  but  the  storm  soon  came 
nearer;  the  lightnings,  instead  of  cutting  zigzag 
across  the  sky,  flared  in  broad  sheets  through  the 
darkness,  and  before  they  died  out,  the  deafening 
crack  of  the  thunder  echoed  among  the  bare  crags 
of  the  mountain-cliffs  and  rolled  in  deep  angry  waves 
of  sound  to  the  shore  and  the  head  of  the  bay.  Sea 
and  land,  man  and  beast,  all  was  flooded  with  the 
dazzling  glare  each  time  the  destroying  clouds 
discharged  their  bolts ;  the  surging  waves  and  the 
air  above  them  gleamed  in  sulphurous  yellow,  through 
which  the  lightning  blazed  as  through  an  olive- 
tinted  glass  wall. 

Now  too  Ephraim  thought  he  discerned  that  the 
heaviest  clouds  were  coming  up  from  the  south  and 
not  from  the  north;  and  presently,  by  the  light- 
ning's gleam,  he  saw  that  behind  him  here  a  refrac- 
tory team  were  plunging  into  the  waves,  there  one 
chariot  was  overturning  another,  and  beyond  these 
again  several  were  locked  together  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  drivers  and  the  men  at  arms,  while  they 
checked  the  progress  of  those  which  followed. 

Still,  on  the  whole,  the  enemy  was  advancing,  and 
the  space  dividing  the  fugitives  from  the  pursuers 
grew  no  wider.  However,  the  confusion  that  pre- 
vailed among  the  Egyptians  was  by  this  time  so 
great  that  the  cries  of  terror  of  the  fighting  men  and 
the  encouraging  shouts  of  the  drivers  waxed  louder 
and  louder,  in  the  intervals  between  the  maddening 


31O  JOSHUA. 

roar  of  the  thunder.  But,  black  as  were  the  storm 
clouds  to  the  south,  fiercely  as  the  wind  raged,  the 
darkened  heavens  shed  no  water ;  and  though  the 
pilgrims  were  wet,  it  Avas  not  with  rain,  but  with 
the  splashing  waves  which  dashed  higher  and  higher 
every  moment,  washing  up  further  and  further  over 
the  dry  sand  in  the  bay.  The  path  was  narrowing, 
the  passing  of  the  multitude  was  at  an  end.  The 
blaze  of  the  heavens  still  guided  the  frightened  rear 
to  the  hoped-for  goal,  reminding  them  that  there 
stood  Moses  with  the  staff  lent  him  by  God.  Every 
step  brought  them  nearer. 

Presently  a  shout  of  triumph  proclaimed  that  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin  had  reached  the  shore,  though 
they  waded  through  the  foaming  fringe  of  waters 
for  some  little  distance.  It  had  cost  them  unheard- 
of  efforts  to  save  the  cattle  from  the  rising  tide,  to 
drag  on  the  loaded  carts,  and  keep  the  flocks  to- 
gether ;  but  now  they  all  stood  in  safety  on  dry 
land.  Only  the  strangers  and  lepers  remained  to  be 
rescued.  The  lepers,  indeed,  had  not  flocks  nor 
herds ;  but  the  strangers  had  many,  and  the  storm  so 
terrified  the  people,  as  well  as  the  cattle,  that  they 
dared  not  plunge  into  the  water,  which  was  not 
ankle  deep.  Ephraim,  however,  reached  the  land 
and  called  to  the  herdsmen  from  the  shore  to  follow 
where  he  had  passed,  and  under  the  guidance  they 
drove  the  herds  forward.  This  was  successful ;  the 
last  man,  and  last  herd  of  cattle  reached  the  land  of 
safety  under  the  raving  storm  amid  loud  shouts  of 
joy.  The  lepers  were  forced  to  wade  through  waves 


JOSHUA.  311 

up  to  their  knees  and  even  to  their  girdles,  and  be- 
fore they  had  landed  the  gates  of  Heaven  were 
opened  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  But  they  too 
were  safe  ;  and  though  many  a  mother  who  had  been 
carrying  her  little  one  in  her  arms  or  on  her  shoulder, 
fell  on  her  knees  on  the  shore,  though  many  a  hap- 
less wretch  who  had  been  helping  his  sturdier  fellow- 
sufferers  to  drag  a  cart  through  the  yielding  sands, 
or  wade  through  the  surf  with  a  litter  on  his  back, 
felt  his  head  throb  with  fever,  still,  they  too  had 
escaped  destruction. 

They  were  to  await  further  orders  beyond  a  grove 
of  palms  which  stood  on  some  rising  ground  about  a 
group  of  wells  not  far  from  the  shore.  The  tribes 
had  gone  further  inland  to  proceed  on  their  way 
at  a  given  signal ;  this  was  to  take  them  in  a  south- 
easterly direction,  into  the  mountain,  where  the  in- 
hospitable rocks  prohibited  any  pursuit  by  a  regular 
army  or  war  chariots. 

Hur  had  gathered  his  men  about  him,  and  they 
stood  armed  with  spears,  slings,  and  short  swords, 
ready  to  fall  on  the  foes  who  might  venture  to  set 
foot  on  land.  Men  and  horses  should  be  cut  down, 
and  the  chariots  piled  into  a  high  barrier  so  as  to 
erect  a  difficult  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  pursuers. 
The  beacons  on  the  shore  were  so  diligently  fed  and 
screened  that  neither  the  rain  nor  the  blast  could 
extinguish  them.  They  were  to  light  the  herdsmen 
who  were  prepared  to  attack  the  chariot-men,  and 
old  Nun,  Hur,  and  Ephraim  stood  at  their  head. 
But  it  was  in  vain  that  they  waited  for  the  pursuers, 


312  JOSHUA. 

and  when  the  youth  was  the  first  to  see  by  the  glare 
of  the  beacon-fires  that  the  way  by  which  the  fugi- 
tives had  come  was  now  one  with  the  broad  level  of 
the  sea,  and  that  the  smoke  was  driving  to  the  north 
instead  of  the  southwest,  —  it  was  about  the  hour  of 
the  first  morning  watch  —  a  shout  of  triumph  burst 
from  his  breast  overflowing  with  thankfulness  and 


"  Look  at  the  flames  !  The  wind  has  changed  ; 
the  sea  is  being  carried  northwards  !  The  waves 
have  swallowed  up  Pharaoh's  host  !  " 

At  this  there  was  silence  for  a  while  in  the  multi- 
tude, and  then,  suddenly,  Nun's  loud  voice  was 
heard  : 

"  He  is  right,  my  children  ;  vain  is  the  strength  of 
man  !  O  Lord  God  !  How  terrible  and  fearful  are 
Thy  judgments  on  Thy  foes  !  " 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  a  loud  outcry.  Out 
by  the  wells,  where  Moses,  greatly  exhausted,  was 
leaning  against  a  palm  tree  with  Aaron  and  many 
others  about  him,  the  fact  which  Ephraim  had  first 
discerned  was  now  observed  by  the  rest  ;  the  glad 
and  terrible  tidings,  incredible  but  true,  flew  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  and  each  minute  confirmed  their 
certainty.  Every  eye  glanced  skywards  ;  the  black 
clouds  were  steadily  sailing  away  to  the  northward. 
The  rain  was  ceasing  ;  instead  of  the  angry  flashes 
and  the  roar  of  thunder,  a  few  pale  gleams  lighted 
up  the  isthmus  and  the  northern  lakes,  and  to  the 
south  the  sky  was  clearing.  At  last  the  low  moon 
looked  out  between  the  banks  of  clouds;  its  peaceful 


JOSHUA.  313 

rays  silvered  the  tall  flanks  of  Baal-Zephon  and  the 
shores  of  the  gulf,  now  bathed  once  more  in  dashing 
waves.  The  raving  and  shrieking  blast  sank  to  a 
murmuring  breeze  from  the  south,  and  the  waters, 
which  had  been  as  a  raging  monster  besieging  the 
rocks,  now  lay  quivering  with  broken  strength  at 
the  stony  base  of  the  mountain. 

The  sea  spread  a  shroud,  dark  for  a  time,  over 
those  hundreds  of  corpses  ;  but  the  pale  moon,  ere  it 
set,  took  care  that  the  watery  grave  of  a  King  and 
so  many  great  personages  should  not  lack  a  splendid 
pall.  Its  radiance  poured  down  on  the  waves  that 
hid  them,  decking  them  with  a  glorious  embroidery 
of  diamonds  with  silver  setting. 

Whilst  the  east  grew  bright  and  the  sky  was  red 
with  dawn  the  tents  were  pitched  ;  yet  there  was 
little  time  for  a  hasty  morsel.  Shortly  after  sunrise 
the  chief  called  the  wandering  people  together,  and 
as  soon  as  they  had  assembled  at  the  springs,  Miriam 
swung  the  tambourine,  shook  the  circle  of  bells  and 
struck  the  calf-skin  till  they  sounded  far  and  wide, 
and  as  she  paced  forth  with  a  light  step,  the  women 
and  maidens  followed  her,  keeping  rhythmical  time 
with  the  dance  ;  and  she  sang  : 

"  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed 
gloriously  ;  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown 
into  the  sea ! 

The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song !  and  he  is  be- 
come my  salvation ;  he  is  my  God  and  I  will  prepare 
him  an  habitation  ; 

My  Father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him !    Pharaoh's 


314  JOSHUA. 

chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea — 
his  chosen  captains  also  are  drowned  in  the  TCed 
Sea. 

The  depths  have  covered  them;  they  sank  into 
the  bottom  as  a  stone. 

Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in 
power.  Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  hath  dashed  in 
pieces  the  enemy. 

And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  excellency  thou  hast 
overthrown  them  that  rose  up  against  thee ;  Thou 
sentest  forth  thy  wrath  which  consumed  them  as 
stubble. 

And  with  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the  waters  were 
gathered  together;  the  floods  stood  upright  as  an 
heap  and  the  depths  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of 
the  sea. 

The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I 
will  divide  the  spoil ;  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon 
them ;  I  will  draw  my  sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy 
them. 

Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind,  the  sea  covered 
them  ;  they  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the 
gods? 

Who  is  like  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in 
praises,  doing  wonders  ? 

Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  forth  the  people  which 
thou  hast  redeemed ;  thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy 
strength  unto  thy  holy  habitation  !  " 

Men  and  women  alike  joined  in  when  she  repeated 
the  cry,  "  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 


JOSHUA.  315 

triumphed  gloriously,  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath 
he  thrown  into  the  sea." 

This  song  and  this  solemn  hour  were  never  for- 
gotten by  the  Israelites,  and  each  one  was  full 
of  his  God  and  of  glad,  thankful  hope  for  happier 
days. 


316  JOSHUA. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  song  of  praise  had  died  away  and  the  storm 
had  long  since  ceased  :  yet  the  morning  sky,  which 
had  been  red  at  dawn,  was  again  covered  with  gray 
clouds,  and  a  strong  wind  still  blew  from  the  south- 
west, disturbing  the  lake  and  shaking  and  rocking 
the  crowns  of  palms  which  stood  by  the  wells. 

The  rescued  people  had  extolled  the  Most  High, 
and  even  the  coldest  and  most  perverse  had  joined 
in  Miriam's  hymn  of  praise ;  but  as  the  procession 
of  dancers  approached  the  sea  many  would  have 
gladly  left  the  ranks  and  have  hastened  to  the  strand 
where  many  things  attracted  them. 

Hundreds  had  now  betaken  themselves  to  the 
shore,  where  the  waves,  like  generous  robbers,  dis- 
gorged and  washed  up  on  to  the  sand  that  which 
they  had  engulfed  during  the  night. 

Nor  did  even  the  women  allow  the  wind  to  hinder 
them,  for  covetousness  and  revenge,  the  most  power- 
ful instincts  in  the  human  breast,  drew  them  to  the 
shore. 

Some  new  object  appeared  every  moment  to  ex- 
cite their  greed ;  for  here  lay  the  corpse  of  a  warrior, 
and  there  his  overthrown  chariot  in  the  sand.  From 
this,  if  it  had  been  the  possession  of  a  great  man, 


JOSHUA.  317 

they  tore  the  silver  or  golden  ornaments ;  from  the 
owner  they  took  his  short  sword,  or  the  battle-axe 
out  of  his  girdle,  and  men  and  women  of  the  common 
class,  the  slaves  and  slave-women  of  the  Hebrews 
and  the  strangers,  robbed  the  bodies  of  their  clasps 
and  bracelets,  which  were  of  precious  metal,  or  tore 
the  rings  from  the  swollen  fingers  of  the  drowned. 

The  ravens  which  had  followed  the  wanderers, 
and  which  had  disappeared  during  the  storm,  now 
returned,  and  were  screeching  and  striving  against 
the  wind,  at  least  to  maintain  a  place  above  the 
booty,  the  scent  of  which  had  attracted  them. 

But  far  greedier  than  they  were  the  dregs  of  the 
wandering  host ;  and  when  the  sea  threw  a  costly 
article  on  shore  a  wild  cry  was  raised,  and  hard  blows 
exchanged.  The  leaders  themselves  kept  back,  for 
they  considered  that  the  Hebrews  had  a  right  to  the 
spoil ;  and  if  one  of  them  tried  to  prevent  gross 
covetousness  the  people  refused  to  obey  him. 

What  the  Egyptians  had  so  lately  brought  upon 
them  was  so  dreadful  that  it  never  entered  the 
minds  of  the  best  of  them  to  restrain  their  thirst 
for  revenge.  Many,  even  gray-bearded  men  of  high 
position,  and  women  and  mothers  whose  appearance 
bespoke  a  kindly  disposition,  drove  back  the  few 
unfortunates  who  had  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
strand  on  the  wreckage  of  the  war-chariots  and 
baggage-wagons.  With  shepherds'  crooks  and 
travellers'  staves,  with  knives  and  axes,  or  by  throw- 
ing stones  and  with  spiteful  words  they  forced  them 
to  relax  their  hold  on  the  floating  wood ;  and  the 


318  JOSHUA. 

few  who  reached  the  land  were  driven  by  the  furious 
mob  back  into  the  sea  which  had  spared  them  in 
vain. 

Their  wrath  was  so  great,  and  revenge  such  a 
sacred  duty,  that  none  dreamed  of  the  respect,  com- 
passion and  consideration  due  to  misfortune;  not  a 
word  was  heard  that  could  hint  of  magnanimity  or 
pity,  or  even  or  the  profit  that  might  be  gained  by 
saving  the  rescued  to  be  slaves,  or  as  prisoners  of 
war  to  be  ransomed. 

"  Death  to  the  arch-enemy !  "  "  Destruction  fall 
on  them  !  "  "  Away  with  them ! "  "  You  drove  us 
and  our  children  into  the  sea,  away  with  you  into 
the  salt  waves  ? "  "  Give  them  as  food  to  the 
fishes ! " 

These  were  the  cries  that  were  raised  on  every 
side  and  which  no  one  checked,  not  even  Miriam 
and  Ephraim,  who  likewise  had  gone  down  to  the 
shore  to  witness  the  tragedy  that  was  being  enacted 
there.  Though  the  maiden  was  now  the  wife  of 
Hur,  her  demeanor  and  character  had  been  very 
little  altered  by  her  marriage.  The  fate  of  her  peo- 
ple and  her  relations  with  her  God — whose  proph- 
etess she  felt  she  was,  were  still  her  highest 
thought ;  and  now  that  all  she  had  hoped  and  prayed 
for  was  being  fulfilled,  now  that  she  had  given  ex- 
pression to  the  feelings  of  the  faithful  in  song,  march- 
ing in  front  of  the  thankful  multitude,  she  consid- 
ered she  had  attained  the  summit  of  her  existence. 

Ephraim  first  had  reminded  her  of  Hosea,  and 
while  she  spoke  with  him  of  the  prisoner  she  walked 


JOSHUA.  319 

proudly  along  like  a  queen,  and  answered  the  greet- 
ings of  the  people  with  majestic  dignity.  Her  eyes 
sparkled  with  happiness,  and  her  face  wore  only  for 
a  few  minutes  an  expression  of  pity  when  the  youth 
told  her  of  the  hardships  he  had  endured  with  his 
uncle.  Of  course  she  still  remembered  the  man  she 
had  loved,  but  he  was  no  longer  essential  to  the  high 
aim  of  her  life. 

Ephraim  had  just  mentioned  the  lovely  Egyptian 
woman  who  loved  his  uncle,  and  at  whose  petition 
the  chains  had  been  taken  off  the  prisoners,  when 
a  loud  cry  was  raised  at  a  part  of  the  shore  where 
a  great  crowd  had  collected. 

Howls  of  rage  and  cries  of  joy  went  up  together, 
obviously  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  sea  had  thrown 
up  something  particularly  valuable.  Curiosity  at- 
tracted them  both  to  the  spot ;  and  as  Miriam's 
proud  dignity  caused  the  people  to  stand  aside,  she 
soon  caught  sight  of  the  body  of  a  travelling  chariot 
which  had  lost  its  wheels,  and  of  its  pitiable  contents. 
The  linen  canopy  which  had  screened  it  was  torn 
away,  and  lying  on  its  floor  were  two  elderly  Egyp- 
tian women ;  a  third  much  younger,  lay  against  the 
back  seat  of  the  singular  vehicle  which  had  thus  be- 
come a  boat.  The  first  two  lay  dead  in  the  water 
that  covered  the  bottom  of  the  carriage,  and  several 
Hebrew  women  were  in  the  act  of  tearing  off  the 
costly  ornaments  from  the  throat  and  arms  of  one 
of  them.  The  younger  woman  had  escaped  death 
by  a  wonderful  chance,  and  now  she  was  offering 
her  very  precious  jewels  to  the  Hebrew  women. 


320  JOSHUA. 

At  the  same  time  with  pale  quivering  lips  and  slen- 
der, half-benumbed  hands,  she  was  promising  the 
robbers,  in  a  soft  harmonious  voice,  to  give  them  all 
she  had  and  a  handsome  reward  in  money  as  well, 
if  they  would  but  spare  her  life.  She  was  still  so 
young,  and  she  had  been  kind,  very  kind  to  a 
Hebrew ; — if  they  would  but  hear  her.  This  peti- 
tion sounded  appealing,  though  it  was  interrupted  so 
frequently  with  curses  and  groans  that  little  of  it 
was  audible.  Just  as  Miriam  and  Ephraim  reached 
the  shore  she  screamed  aloud,  for  a  brutal  woman 
tore  the  gold  snake  from  her  ear.  The  Egyptian 
girl's  cry  of  anguish  struck  the  youth  like  a  sword 
thrust,  and  the  color  left  his  face  as  he  recognized 
Kasana's  voice. 

The  corpses  by  her  side  were  those  of  her  nurse 
and  of  Baie's  wife. 

Ephraim,  almost  beside  himself,  thrust  aside  the 
men  who  separated  him  from  their  victim  and  hast- 
ened towards  the  remains  of  the  chariot;  sprang 
on  to  the  sand-bank  at  the  foot  of  which  the  vehicle 
was  stranded,  and  cried  with  burning  cheeks  and 
impetuous  passion : 

"  Back !  "Woe  to  those  who  touch  her !  " 
But  a  Hebrew  woman,  the  wife  of  a  brickmaker 
whose  child  had  died  of  frightful  convulsions  on  the 
journey  through  the  sea,  had  already  snatched  the 
dagger  from  Kasana's  girdle,  and  had  stabbed  her 
in  the  back,  with  the  cry : 

"  That  is  for  my  little  Euth,  wretch  I  " 

She  raised  the  bloody  poniard  for  a  second  blow ; 


JOSHUA.  321 

but  before  she  could  strike  her  enemy  again,  Ephraim 
rushed  between  them  and  wrenched  away  the  knife. 
Then,  standing  in  front  of  the  hapless  creature,  he 
shouted  in  loud  menace  : 

"  Murderers  and  thieves !  If  one  of  you  dares 
to  touch  her,  his  blood  shall  mingle  with  that  of  this 
woman ! " 

With  these  words  he  fell  on  his  knees  by  the  side 
of  the  bleeding  victim,  and,  finding  that  she  had 
lost  consciousness,  he  lifted  her  in  his  arms  and 
carried  her  to  Miriam. 

The  startled  plunderers  for  a  few  minutes  suffered 
him  to  do  as  he  would,  but  before  he  had  gained  his 
end,  a  cry  was  raised  of : — "  Yengeance  !  Yenge- 
ance !  We  found  the  woman,  and  the  booty  is 
ours  alone  !  "  "  How  dare  the  insolent  Ephraimite 
call  us  robbers  and  murderers  ?  "  "  When  there  is 
a  chance  of  shedding  Egyptian  blood  it  shall  flow  !  " 
"  The  Lord  our  God  spares  not,  nor  do  we !  "- 
"  Seize  him ! "  "  Seize  the  girl !  " 

But  the  lad  paid  no  heed  to  this  outbreak  of  rage 
till  Kasana's  head  was  resting  on  Miriam's  bosom 
where  she  was  sitting  on  a  sandhill  near  at  hand  ; 
and  then,  as  the  angry  crowd  rushed  upon  him,  the 
women  outstripping  the  men,  he  once  more  flourished 
his  dagger  crying : — 

"  Back !  Hold  off,  I  tell  you  once  more.  If  there 
are  any  men  here  of  Ephraim  or  Judah  let  them 
come  to  my  side  or  to  Miriam's,  the  wife  of  their 
chief ; — Well  done,  my  brethren !  and  woe  to  him 

who  lays  a  hand  on  her ;  Yengeance,  do  you  say  ? 
21 


322  JOSHUA. 

Are  you  not  avenged  by  that  hyena  who  has  mur- 
dered thib*  poor  defenceless  creature  ?  Your  victim's 
jewels  ? — Well,  well,  they  are  yours,  and  I  will  give 
you  my  own  into  the  bargain  so  long  as  you  leave 
the  wife  of  Hur  to  care  for  the  dying  woman  !  " 

He  bent  over  Kasana,  took  from  her  person  all 
she  had  about  her  of  pins  and  rings,  and  placed 
them  in  the  greedy  hands  stretched  out  to  receive 
them.  Then  he  took  the  broad  gold  band  from  his 
own  arm,  held  it  up  and  cried : 

"  This  is  the  promised  ransom.  Go  back  quietly 
and  leave  this  woman  to  Miriam,  and  you  shall  have 
it  to  share  among  you.  If  you  insist  on  blood,  come 
on, — but  then  I  keep  the  bracelet !  " 

These  words  did  not  fail  of  their  effect.  The 
angry  women  looked  first  at  the  heavy,  broad  gold 
band,  and  then  at  the  splendid  youth  and  the  men 
of  Judah  and  Ephraim  who  had  rallied  round  him ; 
and  then  gazed  inquiringly  at  each  other.  At  last  ihe 
wife  of  a  foreign  trader  cried  out : 

"  Give  us  the  gold  and  we  will  leave  the  wounded 
darling  to  the  chief's  son." 

The  rest  agreed  to  this  decision,  although  the 
brickmaker's  furious  wife,  who  meant  to  have  done 
a  deed  pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  her  God  by  avenging 
her  child,  and  had  in  consequence  been  branded  as 
a  murderess,  still  threatened  Ephraim  with  frenzied 
gestures,  till  she  was  dragged  away  to  the  shore  by 
the  crowd  who  hoped  to  find  fresh  plunder  there. 

Through  all  the  tumult  Miriam,  without  a  qualm 
of  fear,  had  examined  and  bound  up  Kasana's 


JOSHUA.  323 

wounds  with  a  skilful  hand.  The  dagger,  a  gift  in 
jest  from  Prince  Siptah,  that  his  fair  one  might  not 
go  forth  to  battle  unarmed,  had  inflicted  a  deep 
stab  under  one  shoulder,  and  she  had  lost  so  much 
blood  that  the  feeble  flicker  of  life  seemed  ready 
to  die  out  at  every  breath.  But  she  still  lived,  and 
she  was  carried  into  Nun's  tent  as  being  the  nearest 
at  hand. 

The  old  chief  had  just  been  giving  out  weapons 
to  the  herdsmen  and  youths  gathered  together  by 
his  grandson  to  go  forth  to  liberate  his  beloved  son, 
and  had  himself  promised  to  join  the  expedition, 
when  the  melancholy  party  reached  the  tent.  If 
Kasana  had  admired  the  noble  old  man,  so  had 
Nun  felt  very  kindly  towards  Hornecht's  lovely 
daughter  in  the  bygone  years  at  Tanis.  They  had 
never  met  without  her  giving  him  some  pretty  greet- 
ing and  he  would  reply  to  her :  "  The  Lord  bless 
thee,  my  child,"  or  "  A  happy  day  for  an  old  man 
when  he  meets  so  sweet  a  maid." 

Many  years  ago,  while  she  still  wore  the  curls  of 
a  very  young  girl,  he  had  even  given  her  a  lamb 
with  especially  silky  snow-white  wool,  after  he  had 
concluded  a  bargain  which  her  father,  exchanging 
some  corn  from  Hornecht's  land  for  steers  of  his 
own  famous  breed.  And  all  his  son  had  ever  told 
him  of  Kasana  had  tended  to  enhance  his  regard 
for  her.  She  seemed  in  his  eyes  the  most  lovable 
of  all  the  maidens  of  Tanis,  and  if  she  had  been  the 
child  of  Hebrew  parents  it  would  have  rejoiced  him 
to  see  her  married  to  his  son. 


324  JOSHUA. 

To  find  his  favorite  again  in  so  pitiable  plight 
was  so  great  a  grief  to  the  old  man  that  the  tears 
ran  down  on  his  snowy  beard,  and  his  voice  shook 
when  he  saw  the  blood-stained  bandage  about  her 
shoulder.  As  soon  as  she  was  laid  on  his  couch, 
and  Nun  had  placed  his  medicine  chest  at  the  proph- 
etess's service,  Miriam  desired  the  men  to  leave 
her  alone  with  the  sufferer ;  and  when  she  called 
them  back  into  the  tent  she  had  revived  Kasana 
with  some  drug,  and  bound  her  wound  with  greater 
care.  "With  her  hair  smoothly  arranged  and  the 
blood  all  washed  away,  she  lay  between  the  fresh 
linen  sheets  like  a  sleeping  child,  hardly  looking  as 
if  she  had  attained  womanhood.  And  she  still 
breathed,  though  the  blood  had  not  returned  to  her 
lips  or  cheeks,  nor  was  it  till  she  had  again  swal- 
lowed the  mixture  which  Miriam  had  prepared  for 
her  that  she  opened  her  eyes. 

At  the  foot  of  the  bed  stood  the  old  man  and  his 
grandson,  and  each  would  fain  have  asked  the  other 
how  it  came  to  pass  that  he  could  not  restrain  his 
tears  as  he  looked  into  the  face  of  the  stranger. 

The  conviction  which  Ephraim  had  so  unexpect- 
edly gained  that  Kasana  was  base  and  falsehearted, 
had  revolted  him  and  frightened  him  back  into  the 
right  way  which  he  had  left.  Nevertheless,  he  had 
kept  all  he  had  overheard  in  the  tent  locked  in  his 
own  breast,  and  when  he  had  told  his  grandfather 
and  Miriam  that  Kasana  had  interceded  kindly  for 
the  prisoners,  and  both  had  desired  to  learn  more 
from  him,  he  had  felt  as  a  father  might  who  had 


JOSHUA.  325 

witnessed  the  crime  of  a  beloved  son,  and  not  a  word 
of  the  horrors  he  had  heard  passed  his  lips.  Now, 
he  was  glad  he  had  kept  silence ;  for,  in  spite  of  all 
he  had  seen  and  heard,  this  pure  and  lovely  creature 
was  surely  incapable  of  anything  dishonorable. 

Old  Nun  had  never  ceased  to  think  of  her  as  the 
sweet  child  he  had  known  so  well,  the  delight  of 
his  eye  and  joy  of  his  heart.  He  looked  down  on 
the  quivering  features  with  tender  pity,  and  when 
at  length  she  opened  her  eyes,  he  smiled  at  her  with 
fatherly  affection.  The  light  in  her  eyes  showed 
that  she  too  at  once  recognized  him  and  Ephraim, 
but  when  she  tried  to  nod  her  head  to  them  she  was 
too  weak.  Still,  her  expressive  face  confessed  her 
surprise  and  pleasure ;  and  when  Miriam  for  the 
third  time  offered  her  the  draught  and  moistened 
her  brow  with  some  strong  essence,  she  looked  from 
one  to  another  with  her  large  eyes,  and  seeing  their 
anxious  gaze  she  was  able  to  say  in  a  low  voice  : 

u  This  wound  aches  so,  and  death — Shall  I  die  ? " 
They  glanced  inquiringly  at  each  other,  and  the 
men  would  very  gladly  have  concealed  the  dreadful 
truth,  but  she  went  on  : 

"  Oh,  let  me  know,  tell  me  the  truth,  I  pray  you ! " 

And  Miriam,  who  was  kneeling  on  the  ground  by 
her  side,  found  courage  to  reply  : 

"  Yes,  poor  young  thing,  the  wound  is  deep ;  but 
all  my  art  may  do  to  save  you  shall  be  done,  to  pre- 
serve your  life  as  long  as  possible." 

The  words  were  spoken  kindly  and  compas- 
sionately, and  yet  the  prophetess's  deep  voice  seemed 


326  JOSHUA. 

to  jar  on  Kasana's  ear ;  her  lips  curled  pitifully  while 
Miriam  spoke,  and  when  she  ceased,  the  sufferer 
closed  her  eyes  and  large  tears  flowed  down  her 
cheeks. 

Deep  and  anxious  stillness  reigned,  till  she  opened 
her  eyes  once  more,  and  fixing  them  sadly  on 
Miriam's  face,  asked,  as  if  in  amazement  at  some- 
thing strange: 

"  You,  a  woman,  are  learned  in  the  leech's  art  ? " 
To  which  Miriam  replied  : 

"  My  God  hath  bidden  me  to  care  for  the  sufferers 
among  my  people." 

At  this  the  dying  woman's  eyes  sparkled  uneasily, 
and  she  exclaimed  in  a  stronger  voice,  indeed  with 
a  vigor  which  surprised  her  hearers : 

"  You  are  Miriam,  the  woman  who  sent  for  Hosea 
to  go  to  her  ;  "  and  when  Miriam  replied  unhesitat- 
ingly and  simply  : 

"  As  you  say,"  Kasana  went  on : 

"  And  you  are  indeed  of  great  and  majestic  beauty, 
and  must  be  capable  of  great  things  !• — He  obeyed 
your  call — and  you — you  could  nevertheless  marry 
another  ? " 

And  again  the  prophetess  answered,  but  in  a 
gloomier  tone : 

"  As  you  say." 

Then  the  dying  woman  closed  her  eyes  again,  and 
a  strange  covert  smile  parted  her  lips. 

But  this  was  not  for  long ;  she  became  uneasy  and 
restless.  The  fingers  of  her  little  hands,  her  lips, 
even  her  eyebrows,  were  never  still,  and  her  smooth, 


JOSHUA.  327 

narrow  brow  was  furrowed  as  though  she  had  some- 
thing weighing  on  her  brain.  At  length  the  trouble 
which  disturbed  her  peace  found  utterance  and  she 
said  in  quavering  accents : 

"  You  are  Ephraim,  whom  he  loved  as  a  son,  and 
you  are  Nun,  the  old  man  his  father.  There  you 

stand,  and  you  will  live,  while  I Oh  and  it  is  so 

hard  to  leave  the  light  of  day—  Anubis  will  lead 
me  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Osiris  ;  my  heart 
will  be  weighed,  and  then —  She  shuddered 
violently,  opening  and  closing  her  trembling  hands  ; 
but  she  soon  recovered  herself,  and  began  to  speak 
once  more.  But  Miriam  positively  forbade  her,  as 
it  must  hasten  the  end. 

At  this  Kasana  collected  all  her  strength  and  ex- 
claimed quickly  and  as  loudly  as  she  could,  glancing 
at  Miriam  from  top  to  toe  :— 

"  So   you  would   hinder  me  from  doing  what  I 
must  do  ?     You  ?  " 

There  was  an  accent  of  contempt  in  her  tone ; 
but  she  no  doubt  felt  that  she  must  husband  her 
strength,  for  she  went  on  more  calmly,  and  as  if 
speaking  to  herself  :— 

"  But  I  cannot  depart  thus — not  thus !  How  it 
happened,  why  I  did  it  all — I  must  confess — and  I 
will  not  complain  if  only  he  may  know  how  it  came 
to  pass. — O  Nun,  good  old  Nun,  who  gave  me  a 
lamb  when  I  was  yet  but  a  child — I  loved  it  so 
— and  you,  Ephraim,  my  boy,  I  will  tell  you  every- 
thing." 

A  painful  cough  here  checked  her  utterance;  as 


328  JOSHUA. 

soon  as  she  had  recovered  her  breath  she  turned  to 
Miriam  again,  and  went  on,  in  a  voice  so  full  of  bit- 
ter aversion  that  it  startled  those  who  knew  her 
kindly  nature : — 

"  It  is  you — you  tall  woman,  with  a  man's  voice 
and  the  learning  of  a  leech — you  who  beguiled  him 
from  Tanis  and  from  me.  He  went  and  came  and 
did  your  bidding.  And  you — you  became  another 
man's  wife — it  must  have  been  after  his  coming ; 
yes — for  when  Ephraim  brought  your  message  he 
spoke  of  you  as  a  maiden.  Whether  it  was  a  grief 
to  Hosea  I  know  not —  But  another  thing  I  know, 
and  that  is  that  I  have  somewhat  to  confess  before 
it  is  too  late — and  none  may  hear  it  but  those  who 
love  him,  and  I — do  you  hear  ? — I  love  him  more 
than  all  else  on  earth  ! — You  !  you  have  a  husband, 
and  a  God  whose  bidding  you  zealously  obey — as 
you  yourself  have  said.  What  is  Hosea  to  you  ?  I 
beg  you  to  leave  us.  Very  few  have  I  met  in  my 
life  to  whom  I  could  not  feel  kindly,  but  you  I — I 
cannot  love,  I  know  not  why, — and  if  you  remain 
near  me  I  cannot  speak  ! — But  before  you  go — you 
are  a  physician — tell  me  one  thing  ;  I  have  so  many 
things  to  say  to  him  before  I  die — will  it  kill  me  if  I 
speak  ? " 

And  again  the  prophetess  found  no  reply  but  a 
brief  :  "  As  you  say,"  and  her  tone  was  one  of  stern 
warning. 

Hesitating  between  the  duty  she  owed  to  the  suf- 
ferer as  her  physician,  and  her  desire  not  to  contra- 
vene the  wishes  of  a  dying  creature,  she  glanced  at 


JOSHUA.  329 

old  Nun,  and  reading  in  his  face  a  command  to  yield 
to  Kasana's  wish,  she  bent  her  head  and  quitted  the 
tent.  But  as  she  stood  outside,  the  poor  soul's  bitter 
words  came  home  to  her  and  spoilt  the  day  that  had 
begun  so  gloriously,  aye,  and  many  an  hour  after; 
and  to  the  last  she  could  never  explain  to  herselt 
how  it  was  that  in  the  presence  of  that  hapless  dying 
woman  a  feeling  had  possessed  her  that  she  was  the 
smaller,  the  inferior  creature. 

As  soon  as  Kasana  found  herself  alone  with  the 
grandfather  and  grandson,  and  Ephraim  had  fallen 
on  his  knees  by  the  bedside  while  the  old  man,  after 
kissing  her  brow,  stood  with  his  hoary  head  bent  to 
hear  her  low  tones,  she  began  again  : — 

"  Now  I  am  easier.  That  tall  woman — her  knit 
black  brows — her  eyes  as  dark  as  night — they  are 
fiery  indeed,  and  yet  so  cold — that  woman —  Did 
Hosea  love  her,  Father  ?  Tell  me,  I  do  not  ask  out 
of  idle  curiosity." 

"  He  honored  her,"  replied  the  old  man  in  some 
trouble,  "  as  do  all  our  people.  She  is  of  a  lofty 
spirit  and  our  God  vouchsafes  to  her  to  hear  His 
voice.  But  you,  sweet  one,  were  dear  to  him  even 
as  a  child  ;  that  I  know." 

A  slight  shudder  ran  through  her  frame.  For  a 
short  space  she  closed  her  eyes  and  a  blissful  smile 
lighted  up  her  face.  This  lasted  so  long  that  Nun 
thought  that  death  had  already  claimed  her,  and  he 
leaned  over  her,  listening  to  her  breathing  with  the 
draught  in  his  hand.  She  did  not  seem  to  see  him  ; 
but  when  at  last  she  looked  up  again,  she  put  out 


33O  JOSHUA. 

her  hand  for  the  cup,  drank  from  it,  and  then  went 
on  : — 

"  I  felt  as  though  he  were  there  before  me — Hosea 
himself.  He  wore  his  warrior's  dress,  as  he  did  the 
first  time  he  took  me  on  his  arm.  I  was  but  a  little 
child,  and  I  was  afraid  of  him  because  he  looked  so 
grave,  and  my  nurse  had  told  me  that  he  had  slain 
many  enemies.  But  I  was  happy  when  he  came,  and 
when  he  went  away  I  was  sad.  And  years  went  on, 
and  my  love  for  him  grew  as  I  grew.  My  young 

heart  was  so  full  of  him,  so  full Yes,  even  when 

I  was  compelled  to  marry  another,  and  after  I  was  a 
widow." 

The  last  words  were  scarcely  audible,  and  she 
rested  a  while  before  she  went  on : — 

"  Hosea  knows  it  well — only  he  does  not  know  how 
anxious  I  was  when  he  was  in  the  field,  and  how  I 
longed  for  him  till  he  came  home  again.  At  last, 
at  last  he  returned,  and  how  glad  I  was  to  see  him 
once  more ! — But  he  himself !  That  woman— Eph- 
raim  told  me — that  tall  proud  woman  bid  him  go  to 
Pithom.  Yet  he  came  back  from  thence,  and  then, 
O  then — that  was  hardest  of  all  to  bear — he  refused 
my  hand  when  my  father  offered  it — that — ah  how 
it  hurt  me  !  I  can  no  more — give  me  the  cup  again." 

Her  cheeks  had  colored  slightly  as  she  made  this 
painful  confession  ;  and  the  old  man,  perceiving  how 
quickly  the  efforts  she  was  making  were  bringing 
her  to  the  end,  begged  her  to  be  silent.  But  she  in- 
sisted on  making  use  of  what  little  time  remained  to 
her,  and  though  a  piercing  pain  and  tormenting 


JOSHUA.  331 

cough  forced  her  to  press  her  hand  to  her  bosom, 
she  went  on : — 

';  Then  I  hated  him  ;  but  not  for  long ;  and  I  never 
loved  him  more  than  when  I  went  after  the  hapless 
prisoner — you  know,  boy. — And  then  came  the  dread- 
ful, horrible  time ;  the  shameful  things — but  he  must 
know  it  all'  that  he  may  not  despise  me  if  he  ever 
hears. — I  never  knew  my  mother,  and  there  was  no 
one  to  warn  me —  Where  shall  I  begin  ?  Prince 

Siptah — you  know  him,  Father — the  bad  man  who 
will  soon  be  lord  over  Egypt.  My  father  is  in  a  plot 
with  him — Great  Gods !  I  can  speak  no  more !  " 

Terror  and  despair  were  painted  in  her  face ;  but 
Ephraim  broke  in,  and  confessed  with  tearful  eyes 
and  a  trembling  voice  all  he  had  overheard  by  the 
tent  that  night  and  she  confirmed  it  with  assenting 
glances.  When  at  last  he  spoke  of  the  High  Priest 
Baie's  wife,  whose  body  had  been  thrown  up  on  the 
strand  by  Kasana's  side,  she  interrupted  him  in  a  low 
voice,  saying : — 

"  She  devised  it  all.  She  wanted  her  husband  to 
be  supreme  in  the  land  and  govern  even  Pharaoh  ; 
for  Siptah  is  no  King's  son." 

"  Aye,"  said  the  old  man,  only  anxious  to  stop  her 
speaking  and  to  help  her  to  tell  all  she  wished  to 
make  known,  "  and  as  Baie  raised  him  up,  so  can  he 
overturn  him.  He,  even  more  surely  than  his  pre- 
decessor, will  be  the  tool  of  the  men  who  have  made 
him  King.  I  know  Aarsu  the  Syrian,  and  if  I  am 
not  deceived  the  time  is  coming  when  he  will  aim  at 
seizing  the  reins  of  power  in  Egypt,  torn  as  it  will  bo 


332  JOSHUA. 

by  internal  divisions,  though  he  and  his  mercenaries 
have  so  far  helped  others  to  snatch  them.  But  you, 
child,  what  prompted  you  to  follow  the  army  and 
that  profligate  traitor  ? " 

Kasana's  eyes  gleamed  more  brightly  again,  for 
the  question  led  directly  to  the  matter  of  which  she 
desired  to  speak,  and  she  replied  as  clearly  as  her 
failing  strength  allowed : — 

"  It  was  for  your  son's  sake — for  love  of  him — to 
procure  his  release.  Only  the  evening  before,  I  had 
refused  positively  to  go  with  Baie's  wife. — But  when 
I  had  seen  Hosea  once  more,  by  the  well,  and  he — 
ah  !  he  was  so  kind  at  last,  and  kissed  my  brow ! — 
and  I  saw  him  in  misery — alas,  poor  heart !  I  saw 
the  best  of  men  doomed  to  perish  in  disgrace  and 
sickness —  And  when  he  went  onward  with  chains 
on  his  feet  it  suddenly  struck  me — " 

"  Then,  brave,  foolish,  misguided  child  that  you 
are,  you  determined  to  win  the  devotion  of  the 
future  King  in  order  to  secure  the  release  of  your 
friend,  my  son  ? " 

The  dying  woman  smiled  and  said  softly  : 

"  Yes,  yes ;  for  that,  and  that  alone.  And  I 
loathed  the  prince. — And  the  disgrace,  the  shame — 
horrible,  horrible ! " 

"  So  it  was  for  my  son's  sake  that  you  endured  it 
all,"  cried  the  old  man,  interrupting  her,  and  her 
hand  which  he  pressed  to  his  lips  was  wet  with  his 
tears,  while  she  turned  to  Ephraim  and  sighed  : 

"  And  I  thought  of  this  lad  too.  He  is  so  young 
and  the  mines  so  terrible." 


JOSHUA.  333 

Again  she  shuddered.  The  boy  covered  her  hand 
with  kisses,  while  she  looked  tenderly  in  his  face 
and  bis  grandfather's,  and  added  :— 

"  Now  all  is  well,  and  if  the  gods  grant  him  free- 
dom—" 

Here  Ephraim  broke  in  : — 

"  We  are  setting  forth  this  very  day  for  the  mines. 
I  and  my  comrades,  and  my  grandfather  will  drive 
his  keepers  to  the  four  winds — 

"  And  he  shall  learn  from  my  own  lips,"  said  Nun. 
"  how  truly  Kasana  loved  him,  and  his  whole  life  will 
be  too  short  to  thank  her  for  such  a  sacrifice." 

His  voice  failed  him.  But  every  trace  of  trouble 
had  vanished  from  the  dying  woman's  face,  and  she 
lay  for  some  time  gazing  upwards  in  silent  content- 
ment. But  then,  by  degrees,  an  anxious  frown  came 
on  her  brow,  and  she  softly  gasped  out  :— 

"  It  is  well — yes,  all  is  well — but  yet  one  thing — • 
my  body,  unembalmed — with  no  holy  amulets — 

And  here  Nun  again  interrupted  her,  saying: — 
"  As  soon  as  we  have  closed  your  eyes  I  will  deliver 
it,  safely  wrapped,  to  the  Phoenician  seaman  who 
is  close  at  hand,  that  he  may  convey  it  to  your 
father." 

She  tried  to  turn  her  head  to  thank  him  with  a  lov- 
ing glance ;  but  suddenly  she  clutched  at  her  throat 
with  both  hands,  dark  blood  rose  to  her  lips,  a 
bright  flame  tinged  her  cheeks  and  faded  to  dead 
white,  and  after  a  short  and  painful  struggle  she 
sank  back.  Death  had  laid  his  hand  on  the  loving 
heart,  and  her  face  wore  the  look  of  a  child's  whose 


334  JOSHUA. 

mother  has  forgiven  it  some  fault,  and  kissed  it  be- 
fore it  fell  asleep. 

Nun  closed  her  eyes,  weeping  as  he  did  so ;  and 
Ephraim,  deeply  moved,  kissed  the  drooping  lids ; 
and  after  a  few  moments'  silence  the  old  man 
said  :— 

"  I  trouble  myself  very  little  about  the  life  beyond 
the  grave,  of  which  even  Moses  knows  nothing ;  but 
one  who  lives  as  she  has  lived  must  always  survive 
in  the  faithful  memory  of  those  whom  she  loved ; 
and  she  has  done  her  part,  it  seems  to  me,  to  attain 
immortality.  We  will  dispose  of  her  body  according 
to  our  promise,  and  then  set  forth  to  prove  to  him 
for  whom  Kasana  gave  all  she  had  to  give,  that  we 
love  him  no  less  well  than  the  Egyptian  woman." 


JOSHUA.  335 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  prisoners  were  making  their  way  but  slowly 
to  the  mines.  Never  in  all  his  experience  had  the 
leader  of  the  gang  known  a  worse  journey  through 
the  desert,  more  luckless  in  every  way,  and  so  beset 
with  mishaps  and  hindrances. 

One  of  his  "  moles,"  Ephraim  to  wit,  had  made 
his  escape;  he  had  lost  one  of  his  faithful  hounds ; 
and  after  his  gang  had  been  terrified  and  drenched 
by  such  a  storm  as  scarcely  befel  once  in  five  years 
in  all  that  thirsty  tract,  another  overtook  them  on 
the  following  day — the  same  in  which  Pharaoh  and 
his  host  had  perished — even  more  violent  and  per- 
sistent than  the  first.  The  tempest  had  stopped 
their  march,  and  after  this  second  deluge  some  of 
the  prisoners  and  men  had  sickened  with  fever  from 
sleeping  on  the  wet  ground  in  the  open  air.  Even 
the  Egyptian  asses,  unaccustomed  to  the  rain,  had 
suffered  from  the  wetting,  and  the  best  had  been 
left  to  die  on  the  way. 

At  last  they  had  been  compelled  to  bury  two  of 
their  comrades  in  the  sand,  and  three  more  were  so 
ill  that  they  must  be  mounted  on  the  asses  that 
were  left ;  thus  the  prisoners  were  forced  to  carry 
the  provisions  with  which  the  beasts  had  been  laden. 


336  JOSHUA. 

In  all  his  twenty -five  years'  experience  such  a  thing 
had  never  before  happened  to  their  guide,  and  he 
looked  forward  to  severe  reproof  at  home. 

All  this  had  a  bad  effect  on  the  man's  temper, 
though  he  was  commonly  regarded  as  the  most 
lenient  of  his  tribe ;  and  Joshua,  as  the  accomplice 
of  the  audacious  rascal  whose  escape  was  the  begin- 
ning of  all  these  vexations,  was  the  chief  victim  of 
his  wrath.  Angry  as  he  was,  the  leader  of  the  gang 
might  perhaps  have  dealt  more  mercifully  with  him 
if  he  had  bewailed  his  lot  like  the  man  next  behind 
him,  or  cursed  as  loudly  as  his  companion  in  chains, 
who  spent  his  breath  in  threats  of  a  time  coming 
when  his  sister-in-law  would  be  in  attendance  on 
Pharaoh,  and  when  she  would  find  some  way  to 
punish  the  man  who  had  ill  treated  her  dear  sister's 
husband. 

But  Hosea  had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  all  the 
rough  driver  and  his  men  could  do  him  with  as  calm 
submission  as  the  scorching  sun,  which  had  tortured 
him  many  a  time  ere  this  during  his  marches  under 
arms  across  the  desert ;  and  his  manly  spirit  and 
strong  will  helped  him  to  keep  his  resolution.  When 
the  driver  loaded  him  with  a  monstrous  burthen  he 
collected  all  the  strength  of  his  powerful  muscles  and 
tottered  forward  under  it  without  a  rebellious  word 
till  his  knees  gave  way  ;  and  then  his  tyrant  Avould 
fly  at  him,  snatch  a  few  bales  from  off  his  shoulders, 
and  declare  he  knew  all  the  wickedness  of  his  heart, 
and  that  all  he  hoped  for  was,  that  he  might  have 
to  be  left  on  the  way  and  so  bring  his  driver  to 


JOSHUA.  337 

further  trouble  ;  but  he  would  not  let  his  prisoners 
cheat  him  of  their  lives  when  hands  were  needed  in 
the  mines. 

Once  the  man  inflicted  a  deep  wound  ;  but  he  was 
immediately  most  anxiously  careful  that  it  should 
be  healed,  gave  him  wine  to  strengthen  him,  and 
delayed  the  caravan  for  half  a  day  that  he  might 
rest. 

He  had  not  forgotten  Prince  Siptah's  promise  of 
a  splendid  reward  to  the  man  who  should  bring  him 
news  of  this  prisoner's  death ;  but  he  was  an  honest 
man,  and  it  was  this  very  promise  which  prompted 
him  to  watch  with  special  care  over  Joshua's  life  ; 
for  the  consciousness  of  having  neglected  his  duty 
for  any  personal  profit  would  have  spoiled  his  ap- 
petite for  meat,  drink  and  sleep,  the  three  blessings 
he  most  prized.  Hence,  though  the  Hebrew  had 
much  to  suffer,  it  was  not  beyond  endurance  ;  and 
it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  be  able  to  lighten  the  woes 
of  his  weaker  comrades  by  exerting  his  own  great 
strength. 

He  had  resigned  his  fate  to  the  God  who  had 
called  him  to  serve  Him ;  but  this  service,  he  knew, 
v?as  something  more  than  mere  pious  trust ;  and  day 
and  night  his  mind  was  set  on  flight.  But  the  fet- 
ters which  linked  him  to  his  fellow  victim  were  so 
firmly  riveted  and  so  carefully  examined  and  ham- 
mered night  and  morning,  that  any  attempt  at  es- 
cape must  only  have  ended  in  more  cruel  misery. 

The  prisoners  were  conducted  first  across  a  hilly 
country  and  then  towards  a  long  range  of  mountains 

22 


338  JOSHUA. 

lying  in  front  of  them,  till  they  reached  a  desert 
tract  where  weather-worn  boulders  of  sandstone 
stood  up  at  intervals  from  the  rocky  ground. 

On  the  fifth  evening  the  gang  stopped  to  rest  by 
a  lofty  mountain  which  Nature  seemed  to  have 
piled  up  out  of  flat  layers  of  stone ;  and  at  sunrise, 
on  the  sixth  morning,  they  turned  off  down  a  valley 
leading  to  the  mines. 

They  had  overtaken  no  one  since,  on  the  first 
day,  they  had  come  up  with  a  messenger  from  the 
King's  Treasury.  They  had,  on  the  other  hand,  met 
several  small  caravans,  conveying  malachite,  tur- 
quoises and  copper  to  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  green 
glass  manufactured  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines. 

Among  a  party  whom  they  met  at  the  opening  of 
the  gorge  into  which  they  diverged  on  this  last  day, 
were  a  married  couple,  on  their  way  homeward, 
having  been  pardoned  by  the  King.  The  driver 
pointed  to  them,  to  raise  the  spirits  of  his  ex- 
hausted "  moles,"  but  the  sight  of  them  had  quite 
an  opposite  effect ;  for  the  man's  unkempt  hair  was 
already  gray,  though  he  was  hardly  past  thirty,  his 
tall  figure  bent  and  haggard,  and  his  bare  back 
striped  with  many  scars  and  clotted  blood,  \vhile  his 
wife,  who  had  shared  his  fate,  had  gone  blind.  She 
sat  huddled  on  an  ass  in  the  brooding  melancholy  of 
mania;  and  although  the  prisoner  gang  as  they 
marched  past,  loudly  broke  the  silence  of  the  desert, 
and  her  hearing  was  as  sharp  as  ever,  she  paid  no 
heed  to  them,  but  stared  unmoved  into  vacancy. 

The  sight  of  these  hapless  wretches  held  up  his 


JOSHUA.  339 

own  hideous  fate  as  clearly  as  a  mirror  before 
Hosea's  eyes ;  for  the  first  time  he  groaned  aloud, 
and  clasped  his  hands  over  his  face.  This  the  driver 
noticed,  and  touched  by  the  horror  of  a  m'an  whose 
powers  of  endurance  had  till  now  seemed  indomi- 
table, he  cried  to  him : 

"  But  they  do  not  all  return  like  this  ;  not  indeed 
like  this  !  " — ' '  Because  they  are  even  more  utterly 
wretched,"  he  thought  to  himself.  "  But  that  poor 
fellow  need  not  know  that.  Next  time  I  come  this 
way  I  will  remember  to  ask  for  Hosea,  for  I  shall  be 
curious  to  know  what  will  become  of  such  a  bull  of 
a  man.  The  strongest  and  most  determined  often 
are  the  quickest  to  perish." 

At  this  he  flourished  his  whip  over  the  heads  of 
his  gang  as  if  he  were  driving  a  team  of  horses,  with- 
out touching  them,  however.  Then  he  pointed  to  a 
cloud  of  smoke  rising  from  behind  a  wall  of  rock  on 
the  right  hand  and  said  : — 

"  There  are  the  smelting  furnaces.  We  shall  be 
in  by  midday.  There  is  no  lack  of  fires  here  to  cook 
our  lentils,  and  a  bit  of  sheep's  flesh  into  the  bargain, 
for  we  are  keeping  the  Kind  God's  birthday,  the  son 
of  Ka.  Long  may  he  live  !  Hail  and  good  health 
to  him ! " 

Far  half  an  hour  longer  they  toiled  along  the  dry 
bed  of  a  torrent,  with  high  banks  on  each  side  ;  after 
the  storm  a  roaring  mountain  stream  had  rushed  down 
this  gully  to  the  lower  ground,  and  even  now  a  few 
pools  were  exhaling  their  moisture.  When  the  mel- 
ancholy train  had  made  their  way  round  a  steep 


340  JOSHUA. 

shoulder  of  rock,  on  the  top  of  which  stood  a  small 
Egyptian  temple  to  Hathor  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  grave-stones,  they  found  themselves  close  to 
a  bend  in  the  ravine  which  led  to  the  gorge  where 
the  mines  lay. 

Flags  were  waving  from  tall  masts  in  front  of 
the  temple,  in  honor  of  Pharaoh's  birthday ;  and 
when  presently  a  noise  came  up  from  the  valle}r, 
usually  so  silent,  of  shouts,  and  tumult,  and  clatter, 
the  driver  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  high  festi- 
val was  being  kept  by  the  prisoners  with  unwonted 
jollity,  saying  so  to  the  other  guards  who  had 
paused  to  listen. 

So  they  moved  forward  without  delay  ;  but  no 
man  held  up  his  drooping  head,  for  the  noon-day 
sun  was  so  relentlessly  cruel,  and  the  sides  of  the 
ravine,  dazzling  with  the  glare,  poured  down  such 
fierce  heat  that  it  seemed  as  though  they  were  striv- 
ing to  out-do  the  smelting  furnaces. 

Though  so  near  their  journey's  end  the  wanderers 
tottered  forward  as  if  in  sleep,  and  one  alone  held 
his  breath  with  excitement.  As  a  war-horse  har- 
nessed to  a  plough  arches  his  neck  and  dilates  his 
nostrils,  while  the  fire  sparkles  in  his  eye,  so  had 
Joshua  drawn  up  his  stooping  form  in  spite  of  the 
heavy  sack  across  his  shoulders,  and  his  flashing 
gaze  turned  to  the  spot  whence  the  uproar  came 
which  the  driver  supposed  to  be  loud  revelry.  But 
he,  Joshua,  knew  better.  He  could  never  mistake 
the  sounds  which  he  heard.  It  was  the  battle-cry  of 
Egyptian  troops,  the  trumpet-call  to  summon  them 


JOSHUA.  34! 

to  arms,  the  clatter  of  weapons  and  shouting  of 
hostile  parties. 

Ready  at  once  for  swift  action,  he  addressed  his 
comrade  in  chains  and  whispered  his  commands. 
"  The  hour  of  release  is  at  hand.  Keep  your  eyes 
open,  follow  me  blindly." 

At  this  the  other  too  was  greatly  excited,  and  no 
sooner  had  Hosea  looked  down  the  ravine  than  he 
said,  "  Now !  Be  ready !  " 

The  first  glance  into  the  little  gorge  had  revealed 
to  him  a  figure  standing  on  the  top  of  a  cliff,  and  a 
noble  head  framed  in  white  hair.  It  was  his  father. 
He  would  have  known  him  among  ten  thousand, 
and  from  a  much  greater  distance.  But  he  looked 
away  from  that  beloved  face  for  a  moment  to  glance 
at  the  driver  of  the  gang,  who  stood  still,  startled 
and  speechless;  and  then,  thinking  that  a  mutiny 
had  broken  out  among  the  State-prisoners,  with 
quick  presence  of  mind  he  cried  in  harsh  accents  to 
his  subordinates : — 

"  Get  behind  our  prisoners  and  kill  any  one  who 
attempts  to  escape."  But  hardly  had  the  men  done 
his  bidding  and  gone  to  the  rear,  when  Hosea 
whispered  to  his  companion :  "  Now,  down  with 
him!" 

With  these  words  the  Hebrew,  who,  with  his  fel- 
low-captive, was  at  the  head  of  the  file,  rushed  on 
the  driver,  and  Joshua  had  seized  his  right  arm 
and  the  other  man  his  left,  before  he  was  aware 
of  it. 

He  was  a  stalwart  fellow,  and  rage  doubled  his 


342  JOSHUA. 

strength;  he  struggled  wildly  to  free  himself,  but 
Joshua  and  his  comrade  held  him  in  a  grip  of  iron. 

One  glance  had  been  enough  to  show  the  captive 
warrior  which  way  he  must  go  to  reach  his  own 
people.  He  would  have  to  pass  a  small  force  of 
Egyptian  bowmen  who  were  shooting  their  arrows 
at  the  Hebrews  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ravine ; 
but  the  enemy  would  not  dare  to  turn  on  them,  for 
the  sturdy  form  of  the  slave  driver  served  to  screen 
them  both,  and  he  was  easily  recognizable  by  his 
dress  and  weapons.  "  Hold  up  the  chain  with  one 
hand,"  said  Joshua  to  his  accomplice.  "  I  can  hold 
our  living  shield.  We  must  get  up  the  shoulder  of 
the  hill  crab-fashion." 

His  companion  obeyed,  and  when  they  came 
within  arrow-shot  length  of  the  foe  they  held  their 
prisoner,  first  on  one  side  and  then  walking  back- 
wards, between  themselves  and  the  Egyptians.  Thus 
Joshua  made  his  way,  step  by  step,  towards  the 
Hebrew  fighting  men,  shouting  in  ringing  tones : — 
"  The  son  of  ISTun  is  returning  to  his  father  and  his 
people ! " 

None  of  the  Egyptians  who  recognized  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  prison-gang,  had  dared  to  let  fly  a  shaft 
at  the  escaped  prisoners  ;  and  now,  from  the  top  of 
the  slope  which  the  fettered  couple  were  climbing 
backwards,  Joshua  heard  his  name  called  in  joyful 
accents,  and  at  the  same  moment  Ephraim  and  his 
company  of  youthful  combatants  came  flying  down 
the  hill  to  meet  him. 

To  his  astonishment  the  warrior  saw  in  the  hands 


JOSHUA.  343 

of  every  son  of  his  people  a  large  shield  as  of  an 
Egyptian  foot-foldier,  a  sword,  or  a  battle  axe.  But 
many  still  wore  at  their  girdle  the  herdsman's  sling 
and  bag  of  pebbles. 

Ephraim  was  their  leader,  and  before  he  greeted 
his  uncle,  he  ranged  his  men  in  two  ,  ranks  like  a 
double  wall  between  Hosea  and  the  enemy's  archers. 
Not  till  then  did  he  give  utterance  to  the  joy  of 
meeting;  and  another  glad  greeting  followed  his, 
for  old  Nun  was  safely  led  to  the  wall  of  rock  under 
cover  of  those  large  Egyptian  shields  which  the  sea 
had  cast  on  shore ;  and  then,  under  shelter  of  the  cliff, 
strong  hands  tiled  off  the  fetters  which  bound  Joshua 
and  his  comrade,  while  Ephraim,  aided  by  a  few 
others,  bound  the  driver  captive.  The  unfortunate 
officer  had  given  up  all  resistance  and  let  them  do 
what  they  would,  passively  resigned.  Before  they 
tied  his  hands  behind  his  back  he  only  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  wipe  his  eyes,  for  the  tears  were  coursing 
each  other  down  the  stern  man's  cheeks  and  on  to 
his  gray  beard ;  tears  of  vexation  at  finding  himself 
outwitted  and  overpowered,  and  unable  to  fulfil  his 
duty. 

The  old  Hebrew  clasped  his  redeemed  and  only 
son  to  his  heart  with  passionate  affection.  Then 
releasing  him  from  his  embrace,  he  stepped  back  a 
few  places  and  would  never  have  tired  of  feasting 
his  eyes  on  Joshua,  and  of  hearing  that,  faithful  to 
his  God,  he  would  henceforth  devote  himself  to  the 
service  of  his  people. 

But  it  was  not  for  long  that  they  might  allow 


344  JOSHUA. 

themselves  to  revel  in  the  joy  of  this  happy  meeting ; 
the  battle  was  still  to  be  won,  and  Nun,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  transferred  his  command  to  Joshua. 

With  thankful  gladness,  and  yet  not  without  a 
pang  of  regret,  Joshua  heard  of  the  end  which  had 
overtaken  the  fine  army  among  whose  Captains  he 
had  long  been  proud  to  reckon  himself ;  and  he 
rejoiced  to  learn  that  another  company  of  armed 
shepherds  had  gone  under  the  leadership  of  Hur, 
Miriam's  husband,  to  surprise  the  turquoise  mines  at 
Dophkah  at  about  an  hour's  march  further  to  the 
South.  If  they  were  victorious  they  were  to  rejoin 
the  young  men  under  Ephraim  before  sundown. 

These  ardent  spirits  were  burning  to  fall  upon  the 
Egyptians  once  more  ;  Joshua,  who  was  prudent, 
and  who  had  reconnoitred  the  foe,  had  indeed  no 
doubt  that  they  would  succumb  to  the  fierce  herds- 
men, who  far  outnumbered  them.  But  he  was 
anxious  to  avoid  bloodshed  in  this  fight  which  was 
being  waged  for  his  sake,  so  he  desired  Ephraim  to 
cut  him  a  plumy  leaf  from  the  nearest  palm-tree, 
borrowed  a  shield,  and  went  forward  alone  to  speak 
with  the  enemy,  waving  his  symbol  of  peace.  The 
chief  body  of  the  Egyptians  were  guarding  the 
entrance  to  the  mines,  and  recognizing  the  token 
which  invited  a  parley  they  desired  their  captain  to 
meet  Joshua.  This  officer  was  nothing  loth  to  grant 
the  Hebrew  an  interview,  but  he  would  first  make 
himself  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  a  letter 
which  had  just  been  delivered  to  him,  and  which 
must  contain  evil  tidings,  for  that  much  could  be 


JOSHUA.  345 

gathered  from  the  messenger's  demeanor,  and  from 
a  few  broken  but  ominous  words  which  he  had 
murmured  to  his  fellow  Egyptians. 

"While  some  of  Pharaoh's  soldiers  fetched  refresh- 
ment for  the  exhausted  and  travel-stained  runner, 
listening  with  horror  to  the  tidings  he  panted  out  in 
hoarse  accents,  the  officer  read  the  letter. 

His  brow  darkened,  and  when  he  had  ended  he 
clutched  the  papyrus  fiercely  in  his  hand,  for  it 
announced  nothing  less  than  the  destruction  of  the 
army,  the  death  of  Pharaoh  Menephtah  and,  more- 
over, that  his  eldest  surviving  son  had  been  pro- 
claimed and  crowned  as  Seti  the  second ;  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  Prince  Siptah  to  possess  himself  of 
the  throne,  having  completely  failed.  This  Prince 
had  fled  to  the  marsh-lands  of  the  Delta,  and  the 
Syrian,  Aarsu,  after  deserting  him  and  ranging  him- 
self on  the  side  of  the  new  King,  had  been  raised 
to  the  command  of  the  whole  army  of  mercenaries. 
Baie,  the  High  Priest  and  Supreme  Judge,  had  been 
deprived  of  his  offices  by  Seti  II.,  and  banished  from 
Court.  Those  who  had  conspired  with  Siptah  were 
condemned,  not  to  the  copper  mines  but  to  the  gold 
mines  of  Ethiopia.  It  was  also  reported  that  several 
women  attached  to  the  family  of  the  fugitive  usurper 
had  been  strangled,  certainly  his  mother.  Every 
fighting-man  who  could  be  spared  from  the  mines 
was  to  return  forthwith  to  Tanis,  as  there  was  need 
of  men  for  the  newly  constituted  legions. 

These  tidings  produced  a  great  effect ;  for  after 
Joshua  had  communicated  to  the  Egyptian  Captain 


346  JOSHUA. 

the  fact  that  he  too  knew  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Egyptian  Host,  and  in  a  few  hours  expected  fresh 
reinforcements  who  had  meanwhile  been  sent  to  re- 
duce Dophka,  the  Egyptian  surrended  to  his  imperious 
tone,  and  only  sought  favorable  terms  and  leave  to 
depart.  He  knew  only  too  well  how  weak  was  the 
force  in  charge  of  the  turquoise  mines,  and  that  he 
could  look  for  no  succor  from  headquarters.  Be- 
sides this,  the  person  of  the  envoy  captivated  his  con- 
fidence ;  so  after  many  excuses  and  threats  he  ex- 
pressed himself  satisfied  with  Joshua's  permission  to 
withdraw  the  garrison  unharmed,  with  their  beasts 
of  burthen  and  provisions  for  the  journey.  This,  to 
be  sure,  was  not  to  be  granted  till  they  had  laid 
down  their  arms  and  shown  the  Hebrews  every  en- 
trance to  the  mines  where  prisoners  were  working. 

The  young  Hebrews  proceeded  forthwith  to  disarm 
the  Egyptians,  who  were  more  than  twice  their 
number,  and  many  a  veteran's  eye  was  moist,  while 
many  an  one  broke  his  spear  or  snapped  his  arrows, 
cursing  and  swearing  the  while :  and  some  of  the 
older  men  who  had  formerly  served  under  Hosea  and 
now  recognized  him,  raised  their  fist  and  railed  at 
him  for  a  traitor. 

It  was  always  the  refuse  of  the  troops  which  was 
sent  on  service  in  this  wilderness ;  most  of  the  men 
were  stamped  with  traces  of  evil-living,  and  their 
faces  were  hard  and  cruel.  On  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
those  were  carefully  chosen  who  made  ruthless 
brutality  to  the  helpless  their  duty. 

At  last  the  mines  were  opened,  and  Joshua  him- 


JOSHUA.  347 

self  seized  the  miners'  lamp  and  made  his  way  into 
the  sweltering  galleries  where  the  State  prisoners, 
naked  and  loaded  with  fetters,  were  hewing  out  the 
copper  ore.  From  a  distance  he  could  hear  the 
swallow-tailed  picks  hacking  at  the  hard  rock.  Then 
the  miserable  wailing  of  men  and  women  in  torment 
fell  on  his  ear,  for  barbarous  drivers  pursued  them 
into  these  depths  and  goaded  the  idlers  to  bestir 
themselves. 

This  morning,  as  being  Pharaoh's  birthday,  they 
had  all  been  driven  to  the  temple  of  Hathor,  up  on 
the  cliff,  to  pray  for  the  king  who  had  cast  them 
into  this  uttermost  wretchedness ;  and  they  would 
have  enjoyed  a  respite  from  labor  till  next  morn- 
ing if  it  had  not  been  for  this  unexpected  attack ; 
but  the  chief  overseer  had  compelled  them  to  return 
underground.  Indeed,  even  the  women  were  all 
employed  in  digging,  though,  as  a  rule,  their  tasks 
consisted  only  in  crushing  and  sifting  the  ore  which 
was  used  in  the  manufacture  of  glass  and  of  dye- 
stuffs. 

When  the  victims  heard  Joshua's  footstep  echoing 
from  the  bare  rock-wall,  they  feared  lest  some  new 
torment  should  be  coming  upon  them,  and  their 
cries  and  lamentations  were  heard  on  all  sides.  But 
the  deliverer  had  soon  reached  the  first  of  the  toilers, 
and  the  glad  tidings  that  he  had  come  to  put  an 
end  to  their  wretched  lot  was  soon  repeated  to  the 
furthest  depths  of  the  caverns.  Wild  shouts  of  joy 
filled  the  galleries  long  used  to  wailing  and  tears  ; 
but  loud  cries  for  help,  groaning  and  a  death-rattle 


34B  JOSHUA. 

also  fell  on  Joshua's  ear,  for  one  hot-headed  victim 
had  turned  on  the  driver  of  his  gang  and  killed  him 
with  a  blow  of  his  pick.  His  example  fired  the 
vengeance  of  the  others,  and  before  they  could  be 
stopped  the  rest  of  the  overseers  had  met  the  same 
fate.  Not  without  defending  themselves  however, 
and  many  a  prisoner  lay  dead  by  the  corpse  of  his 
tormentor. 

In  obedience  to  Joshua's  call  the  liberated  throng 
at  length  made  their  way  out  to  the  light  of  day. 
"Wild  and  harsh  indeed  were  their  shouts,  mingling 
with  the  clatter  of  the  chains  they  dragged  behind 
them.  And  the  most  stout-hearted  among  the  He- 
brews, when  they  saw  this  troop  of  despairing 
wretches  in  the  broad  sunshine,  shrank  from  the  sight. 
Many  of  these  helpless  creatures  had,  in  former 
times,  enjoyed  every  earthly  blessing  in  their  own 
homes,  or  in  the  King's  palace ;  had  been  loving 
fathers  and  mothers ;  had  rejoiced  in  their  power 
for  good,  and  had  had  their  part  in  all  the  fruits 
which  culture  could  bestow  on  a  gifted  people  ;  and 
now  their  weak  and  blood-shot  eyes,  though  they 
glittered  at  first  with  the  tears  brought  into  them 
by  the  sudden  change  from  the  night  of  the  caverns 
to  the  glare  of  the  midday  sun,  presently  flashed  with 
a  wild  and  greedy  gleam  like  those  of  starving  owls. 

In  their  first  bewilderment  and  consternation  at 
the  amazing  change  in  their  fortunes  they  tremu- 
lously struggled  for  composure,  and  suffered  the 
Hebrews,  at  Joshua's  bidding,  to  file  off  the  fetters 
from  their  ankles  ;  but  they  soon  caught  sight  of  the 


JOSHUA.  349 

disarmed  soldiers  and  overseers,  who  were  ranged 
under  a  wall  of  rock  under  the  eye  of  Ephraim  and 
his  followers,  and  a  strange  impulse  came  over  them. 
"With  a  yell  and  a  shriek  for  which  there  is  no  name, 
and  which  no  words  could  describe,  they  tore  them- 
selves away  from  the  men  who  were  trying  to  remove 
their  chains,  and  without  a  word  or  a  sign  of  mutual 
agreement,  rushed  with  a  common  instinct,  heedless 
of  their  metal  bonds,  on  the  helpless  Avretches.  Be- 
fore the  Hebrews  could  stay  them  each  fell  on  the 
one  who  had  treated  him  most  cruelly  ;  and  here  a 
famished  creature  gripped  the  "foe  who  had  been 
his  master  by  the  throat,  while  there  a  herd  of 
women,  stripped  of  all  clothing  and  horribly  dis- 
figured by  want  and  neglect,  flew  at  the  men  who 
had  most  brutally  insulted,  beaten  and  injured  them, 
and  wreaked  their  long  repressed  fury  with  tooth 
and  nail.  It  was  as  though  a  sudden  flood  of  hatred 
had  broken  down  the  dam  and  was  ravening  un- 
checked for  its  prey. 

There  was  a  frantic  attack  and  defence,  a  fearful 
and  bloody  struggle  on  the  shifting,  red  sandy  soil, 
an  ear-splitting  chorus  of  shrieks,  wailing  and  yells ; 
indeed  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  anything  in  the 
revolting  medley  of  men  and  women  which  became 
more  and  more  inextricably  tangled  as  it  was  ag-- 
gravated  on  one  side  by  the  wildest  passions  and  a 
desire  for  revenge  which  was  sheer  blood-thirstiness, 
and  on  the  other  by  the  dread  of  death  and  strenu- 
ous instinct  of  self-defence. 

Only  a  few  of  the  prisoners  had  held  back,  and 


350  JOSHUA. 

even  they  shrieked  encouragement  to  the  rest, 
reviled  the  enemy  with  excited  vehemence,  and 
shook  their  fists.  The  rage  with  which  the  released 
victims  now  fell  on  their  tormentors  was  as  un- 
measured as  the  cruelty  under  which  they  had 
suffered. 

But  it  was  Joshua  who  had  disarmed  the  tyrants ; 
they  were  therefore  under  his  protection.  He 
ordered  his  men  to  separate  the  combatants  and  if 
possible  without  bloodshed ;  this  was  no  easy  matter, 
and  many  a  fresh  deed  of  horror  was  inevitable.  At 
last  it  was  done,  and  now  it  could  be  seen  how 
strangely  passion  had  lent  strength  to  the  most  ex- 
hausted and  wretched,  for  though  no  weapons  had 
been  used  in  the  struggle,  not  a  few  corpses  lay  on 
the  arena,  and  most  of  the  guards  and  overseers 
were  bleeding  from  ugly  wounds. 

When  peace  once  more  reigned,  Joshua  demanded 
of  the  Captain  of  the  little  garrison  a  list  of  the 
prisoners  in  the  mines ;  but  he  himself  was  wounded 
and  pointed  to  the  clerk  of  the  works  who  had  not 
been  laid  hands  on.  He,  who  had  been  their  leech 
in  case  of  need  and  had  always  treated  them  kindly, 
was  a  man  of  some  age  who  had  known  sorrow 
himself,  and  knowing  what  suffering  means  had 
always  been  ready  to  alleviate  it  in  others. 

He  very  willingly  read  out  the  names  of  the  cap- 
tives, among  whom  were  several  Hebrews,  and,  after 
each  had  answered  to  the  call,  most  of  them  ex- 
pressed themselves  ready  to  go  with  the  departing 
tribes. 


JOSHUA.  351 

When  at  length  the  disarmed  soldiers  and  guards 
set  forth  on  their  homeward  way,  the  driver  who 
had  brought  Joshua  and  his  fellow-prisoners  to  the 
mines  went  up  to  old  Nun  and  his  son  with  a  crest- 
fallen air,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  with 
them ;  for  no  good  could  be  in  store  for  him  at  home, 
and  in  all  Egypt  there  was  no  god  so  mighty  as 
their  God  !  He  had  not  failed  to  observe  that  Hosea, 
who  had  himself  once  been  the  Captain  of  thousands, 
had  ever  in  the  greatest  straits  uplifted  his  hands  to 
that  God,  and  such  fortitude  as  the  Hebrew  had  shown 
he  had  never  before  seen.  Now  indeed  he  saw  and 
knew  that  that  mighty  God  had  overwhelmed  Pha- 
raoh and  his  host  in  the  sea  in  order  to  save  His  peo- 
ple. Such  a  God  was  after  his  own  heart,  and  he 
desired  nothing  better  henceforth  than  to  abide  with 
those  who  served  Him. 

Joshua  gladly  consented  to  his  joining  himself  to 
them,  and  it  was  found  that  there  were  fifteen 
Hebrew  prisoners,  among  them,  to  Ephraim's  great- 
joy,  Reuben,  the  husband  of  Miriam's  devoted  and 
heartbroken  ally,  Milcah.  His  reserved  and  taci- 
turn manners  had  stood  him  in  good  stead,  and  the 
hardships  he  had  endured  seemed  to  have  had  little 
effect  on  his  strong  frame. 

A  triumphant  sense  of  victory  and  the  joy  of  sue 
cess  had  come  over  Ephraim  and  his  youthful  army  ; 
but  when  the  sun  had  set  and  no  sign  yet  appeared 
of  Hur  and  his  followers,  Nun  began  to  feel  some 
alarm.  Ephraim  had  just  declared  his  intention  of 
sallying  forth  with  some  of  his  comrades  in  search 


352  JOSHUA. 

of  tidings,  when  a  messenger  arrived  announcing 
that  Hur's  fighting-men  had  lost  courage  on  behold- 
ing the  efficient  defence  of  the  Egyptian  stronghold 
Their  leader  had  vainly  urged  them  to  storm  it ; 
they  had  shrunk  from  the  venture,  and  if  Nun  could 
not  go  to  their  support  they  must  return  inglori- 
ously. 

It  was  at  once  determined  to  succor  the  timor- 
ous troop.  The  Hebrews  set  forth  in  high  spirits, 
and  on  their  march  through  the  refreshing  night, 
Ephraim  and  Nun  related  to  Joshua  how  Kasana 
had  been  found  and  had  died.  All  she  had  desired 
them  to  tell  the  man  she  loved  they  now  made  known 
to  him,  and  it  was  with  deep  emotion,  that  the  sol- 
dier heard  it  all,  marching  on  in  silent  thought  till 
they  reached  Dophkah,  the  valley  of  the  turquoise- 
mines  in  the  midst  of  which  towered  the  fortress 
surrounded  by  the  huts  of  the  captive  miners. 

Hur  and  his  men  remained  in  ambush  in  an  ad- 
joining valley,  and  when  Joshua  had  told  off  all  the 
Hebrew  force  into  several  divisions,  assigning  a 
task  to  each,  at  daybreak  he  gave  the  signal  for  the 
onslaught.  The  little  garrison  was  overpowered 
after  a  short  struggle,  and  the  fortress  seized.  The 
Egyptians  were  disarmed,  as  those  at  the  copper 
mines  had  been,  and  sent  off  homewards.  The 
prisoners  were  released,  and  the  lepers,  whose  en- 
campment was  in  another  valley  beyond  the  mines, 
and  among  them  those  who  had  been  sent  hither  by 
Joshua's  desire — were  permitted  to  follow  the  con- 
querors at  a  fixed  distance. 


JOSHUA.  353 

Joshua  had  succeeded  where  Hur  had  failed,  and 
before  the  younger  men  departed  with  Ephraim, 
their  leader,  old  Nun,  called  them  together  and  then 
returned  thanks  to  the  Lord.  Those  likewise 
who  were  under  Hur's  command  joined  in  the 
thanksgiving,  and  when  Joshua  presently  appeared, 
Ephraim  and  his  comrades  hailed  him  with  loud  ac- 
clamations. 

"  Hail  to  our  captain  ! "  was  shouted  again  and 
again  as  they  went  on  their  further  way.  "  Hail  to 
him  whom  the  Lord  hath  chosen  to  be  His  sword  ! 
Him  will  we  follow  and  obey  ;  through  him  our 
God  shall  give  us  the  victory  !  " 

Hur's  followers  also  joined  in  the  cry,  nor  did 
he  forbid  them  ;  nay,  he  had  thanked  Joshua  for 
storming  the  strongholds,  and  expressed  his  gladness 
at  seeing  him  free  once  more. 

When  they  set  forth,  Joshua,  as  the  younger,  drew 
back  to  let  the  elder  man  take  the  lead ;  but  Hur 
had  begged  Nun,  who  was  much  older  than  himself, 
to  march  at  the  head  of  the  little  host,  although 
after  the  escape  of  the  people,  on  the  shore  of  the 
Red  Sea,  he  had  been  named  the  chief  Captain  of 
the  Hebrew  fighting  men,  by  Moses  and  the  elders 
of  the  tribes. 

Their  way  led  them  first  through  a  level  valley. 
Then  they  mounted  and  crossed  a  pass  over  the  ridge, 
this  being  the  only  road  by  which  there  was  any 
communication  between  the  mines  and  the  Red  Sea. 
The  rocky  scene  was  wild  and  desolate,  the  path 
steep  and  hard  to  climb.  Joshua's  aged  father,  who 
23 


354  JOSHUA. 

had  spent  his  life  in  the  plains  of  Goshen  and  was 
unaccustomed  to  mountain-walking,  was  carried  by 
his  son  and  grandson  amid  much  glad  shouting  from 
the  others  ;  and  Miriam's  husband,  who  led  his  men 
in  the  rear  of  Ephraim's  troop  of  comrades,  as  he 
heard  their  joyful  cry,  climbed  after  them  with  a 
bowed  head  and  eyes  fixed  gloomily  on  the  ground. 

At  the  top  they  were  to  rest,  waiting  for  the  main 
body  of  the  Israelites,  who  were  to  be  led  through 
the  Desert  of  Sin  towards  Dophkah. 

From  the  top  of  the  pass  the  victorious  troop 
looked  out  for  the  wandering  tribes,  but  as  yet 
nothing  could  be  seen  of  them.  But  as  they  gazed 
back  on  the  mountain  path  by  which  they  had  come, 
the  scene  was  so  grand  and  beautiful  that  it  attracted 
every  eye.  At  their  feet  lay  a  cauldron-shaped  val- 
ley enclosed  by  high  precipices,  ravines,  peaks  and 
pinnacles,  here  white  like  chalk,  there  raven-black, 
gray  and  brown,  red  and  green,  growing  as  it  were, 
from  the  sandy  base  and  pointing  to  the  deep-blue 
heaven,  the  vault  of  dazzling  light  that  bent  over  the 
desert  unflecked  by  a  cloud. 

All  was  barren,  desolate,  silent,  dead.  Not  a  blade, 
not  the  humblest  growth  clung  to  the  sides  of  the 
many-colored  cliffs  which  shut  in  the  sandy  abyss. 
No  bird,  no  worm  nor  beetle  even,  stirred  in  this 
still  region  hostile  to  life.  The  eye  could  nowhere 
see  anything  to  suggest  human  existence,  or  the  tilth 
and  handiwork  of  man.  God,  it  seemed,  had  cre- 
ated this  grand  scene  unfit  for  any  earthly  being,  for 
Himself  alone.  The  man  who  made  his  way  into 


JOSHUA.  355 

these  wilds  trod  a  spot  which  the  Most  High  might 
have  chosen  for  a  retreat  and  rest,  like  the  silent  and 
unapproachable  inner  sanctuary  of  the  temple. 

The  younger  men  had  gazed  speechless  on  the 
wondrous  picture  at  their  feet.  Then  they  lay  down 
on  the  ground,  or  did  their  best  to  be  serviceable  to 
old  Nun,  who  loved  the  companionship  of  the  young. 
He  was  soon  reclining  in  their  midst  under  a  hastily 
contrived  awning,  and  relating  with  sparkling  eyes 
his  son's  achievements  as  Captain  of  the  Egyptians. 

Joshua  and  Hur,  meanwhile,  were  standing  to- 
gether on  the  highest  point  of  the  Pass,  and  gazing 
down  into  the  desolate  valley  of  rocks,  which,  sur- 
rounded by  columns  and  pillars  of  God's  own  hew- 
ing, and  vaulted  over  by  the  blue  dome  of  Heaven, 
appeared  to  each  as  the  most  stupendous  of 
temples. 

The  elder  kept  his  eyes  fixed  gloomily  on  the 
ground,  but  suddenly  he  broke  the  silence  saying : 
"  It  was  at  Succoth  that  I  built  a  heap  and  cried 
upon  the  Lord  to  be  witness  between  us  two.  But 
in  this  place,  .and  in  this  stillness,  it  seems  to  me 
that  we  are  certain  of  the  Presence  without  sign  or 
token."  He  raised  his  face  to  Heaven  and  went  on  : 
"  And  I  lift  up  mine  eyes  to  Thee,  Adonai,  I  send  up 
my  humble  words  to  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  Thou  God  of 
Abraham  and  our  fathers,  that  Thou  mayest  again 
be  witness  between  me  and  this  man  whom  Thou 
callest  to  be  Thy  servant  and  the  sword  in  Thy  right 
hand!" 

He  spoke  the  words  loudly,  with  eyes  and  hands 


356  JOSHUA. 

upraised  to  Heaven.  Then  he  turned  to  his  com- 
panion and  said  with  solemn  gravity  : 

"And  I  ask  thee,  Hosea,  son  of  Nnn,  dost  thou  re- 
member the  witness  borne  by  thee  and  me  by  the 
stone  at  Succoth  ?  " 

"  I  do  remember  it,"  was  the  answer,  "  and  in  bit- 
ter ill  fortune  and  great  dangers  I  have  learnt  what 
the  Most  High  requires  of  me.  I  am  ready  to  devote 
such  strength  of  soul  and  body  as  he  hath  vouch- 
safed to  me  .to  Him  alone,  and  to  His  people,  which 
is  my  people.  Joshua,  henceforth,  be  my  name.  I 
seek  no  further  help,  neither  from  the  Egyptians  nor 
from  any  other  strange  folk,  for  it  was  the  Lord  our 
God  who  gave  me  this  name  by  the  mouth  of  thy 
wife." 

Hereupon  Hur  broke  in  with  earnest  words : — 

"  This  is  what  I  looked  to  hear ;  and  inasmuch  as 
in  this  place  also  the  Most  High  is  a  witness  between 
me  and  thee,  and  heareth  our  present  speech  together 
here,  lo,  I  fulfil  that  which  I  have  vowed.  The 
elders  of  the  tribes,  and  Moses,  the  servant  of  the 
Lord,  called  me  to  be  chief  Captain  over  the  fight- 
ing-men of  Israel.  But  now  thou  art  Joshua,  and 
hast  sworn  to  serve  none  other  but  the  Lord  our 
God.  Likewise  I  know  that  as  the  Captain  of  our 
host  thou  canst  do  greater  things  than  I,  who  have 
grown  gray  tending  herds,  or  than  any  other 
Hebrew  be  he  who  he  may  ;  therefore  do  I  perform 
my  vow  at  Succoth.  I  will  require  of  Moses,  the 
servant  of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  elders  of  the  people 
that  they  give  thee  the  office  of  Captain  of  the  host. 


JOSHUA.  357 

I  leave  the  decision  in  thy  hands  ;  and  inasmuch  as 
I  know  that  the  Lord  readeth  the  heart,  I  hereby 
confess  that  I  had  evil  thoughts  of  thee  in  mine. 
But  for  the  good  of  the  people  I  will  forget  all  strife 
between  us,  and  I  give  thee  my  right  hand  in  token 
thereof  !  "  He  held  out  his  hand  as  he  spoke,  and 
Joshua  grasped  it,  replying  with  generous  frankness, 

"  These  are  the  words  of  a  man,  and  so  likewise 
shall  mine  be.  For  the  people's  sake,  and  the  cause 
we  both  serve,  I  accept  the  offered  sacrifice.  And  inas- 
much as  you  solemnly  called  the  Lord  to  witness  who 
likewise  heareth  me,  I  will  speak  the  truth  in  every- 
thing. The  office  of  Captain  of  the  host  of  Israel 
which  you  will  lay  upon  me,  I  was  called  to  by  the 
Lord  Himself.  The  call  came  to  me  by  the  mouth  of 
Miriam  your  wife,  and  mine  it  is  by  right.  Yet,  that 
you  should  be  willing  to  yield  your  own  dignity  to  me 
I  take  as  a  noble  deed  ;  for  I  know  full  well  how  hard 
it  is  for  a  man  to  resign  power,  most  especially  in 
favor  of  a  younger  man  who  is  not  dear  to  his  heart. 
This  you  have  done,  and  I  thank  you.  And  I  too 
have  had  evil  thoughts  of  you.  for  through  you  I  lost 
another  blessing  which  a  man  finds  it  harder  to  give 
up  than  his  office — the  love  of  a  woman." 

Hereupon  the  blood  mounted  to  Hur's  face  and 
he  exclaimed : 

"  Miriam !  I  never  forced  her  to  marry  me.  Nay, 
without  my  paying  for  her  even,  after  the  manner 
of  our  fathers,  she  became  my  wife  of  her  own  free 
will;" 

"  I  know  it,"   replied  Joshua  calmly.     "  Still,  an- 


358  JOSHUA. 

other  than  you  had  loved  and  wooed  her  longer 
and  more  fervently,  and  the  fires  of  jealousy  burn 
fiercely.  But  have  no  fears.  If  you  were  now  to 
get  a  bill  of  divorce  and  bring  her  to  me  that  I 
should  open  my  arms  and  tent  to  her,  I  should  say : 
wherefore  have  you  done  this  thing  to  yourself  and 
to  me  ? — For  I  have  just  now  learnt  what  the  love 
of  woman  is  and  can  do,  and  I  was  mistaken  when 
I  believed  that  she  loved  me  as  hotly  as  I  loved  her. 
Yea,  and  in  the  course  of  my  wanderings  with  fetters 
on  my  feet,  in  grief  and  misery,  I  vowed  to  myself 
that  I  would  devote  all  that  is  in  me  of  the  fire  and 
force  of  love  to  no  single  creature,  but  to  all  my 
people.  Not  even  the  love  of  woman  shall  ever  turn 
me  away  from  the  great  duty  I  have  taken  upon 
me.  And  as  for  your  wife,  I  am  as  a  stranger  to 
her,  unless  it  be  that  she  sends  for  me,  as  a  Proph- 
etess to  declare  to  me  some  new  purpose  of  the 
Lord." 

And  he  on  his  part  held  out  his  hand  ;  and  as  Hur 
took  it  a  noise  came  up  from  the  troops  below,  call- 
ing on  the  head  of  the  house  of  Judah  and  their 
newly  chosen  Captain ;  for  messengers  were  climb- 
ing the  mountain -slope,  waving  and  pointing  to  the 
mighty  clouds  of  dust  which  swept  in  front  of  the 
coming  multitude. 


JOSHUA.  359 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  wanderers  came  nearer  and  nearer,  and  sev- 
eral of  the  young  fighting-men  hastened  forward  to 
meet  them.  They  were  no  longer  the  jubilant  host 
who  had  joined  triumphantly  in  Miriam's  hymn  of 
praise  ;  no,  they  came  slowly,  mournfully  and  devi- 
ously towards  the  mountain's  foot.  They  had  to 
climb  the  pass  from  the  steepest  side ;  and  how  the 
bearers  groaned,  and  the  women  and  children  wailed, 
how  bitterly  the  drivers  cursed  as  they  urged  the 
beasts  up  the  narrow,  precipitous  path,  and  how 
hoarse  were  the  voices  of  the  men,  parched  with 
thirst,  as  they  set  their  shoulders  to  a  cart  to  help 
the  brutes  that  pulled  it ! 

These  tribes,  who  but  a  few  days  since  had  so 
thankfully  hailed  the  saving  mercy  of  the  Lord, 
looked,  to  Joshua's  eyes,  like  a  beaten  army.  The 
way  by  which  they  had  travelled  from  their  last 
resting-place,  the  camp  by  the  Red  Sea,  had  been 
rough  and  waterless  ;  and  to  a  people  who  had 
grown  up  in  the  fertile  plain  of  Lower  Egypt  it  had 
been  severe  indeed  and  full  of  horror.  It  had  led 
them  into  the  heart  of  the  barren  highlands ;  and  at 
every  step  their  eyes,  wont  to  gaze  on  wide  and 
luxuriantly  green  pastures,  had  fallen  on  narrow 


360  JOSHUA. 

gorges  and  a  naked  wilderness.  After  passing  the 
entrance  to  the  Baba  valley,  as  they  made  their  way 
along  it  through  the  desert  of  Sin,  they  had  seen 
nothing  but  ravines  hemmed  in  by  cliffs.  A  high 
mountain  of  the  hue  of  death  towered  in  awful 
blackness  above  the  rust-brown  crags  close  at  hand, 
and  the  rocks  had  seemed  to  the  wanderers  like 
monstrous  piles  raised  by  human  hands  ;  the  layers 
of  square  blocks  built  up  at  equal  distances,  stood 
open  to  the  sky,  and  it  might  have  been  fancied  that 
the  giant  workmen  whose  hands  had  aided  the 
Architect  of  the  world,  had  been  dismissed  before 
finishing  their  task,  which  in  this  solitude  need  fear 
no  prying  eye,  and  which  seemed  not  intended  to 
be  the  dwelling  of  any  living  creature.  Walls  of 
granite,  brown  and  gray,  rose  on  each  side  of  the 
path,  and  in  the  sand  which  covered  it  lay  heaps  of 
fragments  of  red  porphyry  and  coal-black  stones, 
looking  as  if  they  had  been  broken  by  the  ham- 
mer, or  like  chips  of  slag  cast  out  from  the  melt- 
ing furnace.  Strangely-shaped  masses  of  gleam- 
ing green  rock  enclosed  the  small  "cauldron-shaped 
valleys  of  the  higher  ground,  which  opened  endlessly 
one  out  of  another.  The  mountain  path  cut  them 
across,  and  many  a  time  as  the  pilgrims  entered  one 
of  these  circular  gorges,  the  fear  came  upon  them 
that  the  cliff  beyond  would  compel  them  to  return. 
Their  complaints  and  murmurs  had  been  heard,  but 
presently  the  gap  had  come  in  sight  through  which 
they  reached  another  rocky  amphitheatre. 

On  first  quitting  the  encampment  by  the  Ked  Sea 


JOSHUA.  361 

they  had  frequently  passed  clumps  of  acacia,  and 
patches  of  a  fragrant  desert-herb  which  the  beasts 
had  eaten  with  relish  ;  but  the  further  they  went 
into  the  stony  wilderness,  the  dryer  and  hotter  was 
the  sandy  soil,  and  at  last  the  eye  vainly  sought  a 
tree  or  a  green  thing. 

At  Elim  they  had  found  sweet  wells  and  the  shade 
of  palms,  and  at  the  Encampment  by  the  Ked  Sea  there 
had  been  well-filled  tanks,  but  in  the  desert  of  Sin 
they  had  found  no  water  to  quench  their  thirst  withal, 
and  by  midday  it  seemed  as  though  malicious  demons 
had  cut  off  all  shade  from  the  walls  of  rocks,  for  in 
these  cauldrons  and  bowls  of  stone  everything  was 
scorching  glare,  and  there  was  no  shelter  anywhere 
from  the  burning  sun.  The  last  of  the  water  they 
had  brought  with  them  had  been  distributed  to  man 
and  beast  at  their  last  halting  place,  and  when  the 
host  set  forth  again  in  the  morning,  not  a  drop 
could  be  found  to  assuage  their  raging  thirst.  Then 
the  old  unbelieving  spirit  of  discontent  and  rebellion 
had  again  come  over  the  Israelites.  There  was  no 
end  to  the  curses  on  Moses  and  the  Elders,  who  had 
brought  them  out  of  the  well-watered  land  of  Egypt 
to  such  torment  as  this  ;  however,  when  at  last  they 
had  climbed  the  pass  over  the  ridge,  their  parched 
throats  were  too  dry  for  any  loud  utterance  of  com- 
plaint and  cursing. 

Old  Nun's  messengers,  and  the  youths  sent  to 
meet  them  by  Ephraim  and  Hur,  had  already  an- 
nounced to  them  that  the  smaller  party  had  won  a 
victory  and  set  Joshua  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners 


362  JOSHUA. 

free  ;  but  their  exhaustion  was  so  complete  that  even 
these  glad  tidings  had  affected  them  but  little,  and 
brought  no  more  than  a  faint  smile  to  the  men's 
bearded  lips,  or  a  transient  gleam  of  extinct  bright- 
ness to  the  women's  dark  eyes.  Miriam  even,  with 
Milcah,  had  remained  with  her  tribe  and  had  not,  as 
was  her  wont,  called  the  women  together  to  return 
thanks  to  the  Almighty. 

Reuben,  the  husband  of  her  melancholy  young 
companion,  whose  dread  of  disappointment  would 
not  even  now  allow  her  to  indulge  in  her  new-born 
hope,  was  a  silent,  uncommunicative  man,  and  the 
first  messenger  did  not  know  for  certain  whether  he 
were  among  the  prisoners  who  had  been  rescued. 
Milcah,  nevertheless,  became  greatly  excited,  and 
when  Miriam  desired  her  to  have  patience  and  be 
still,  she  ran  from  one  to  another  of  her  companions 
and  besieged  them  with  questions,  and  since  they 
could  give  her  no  information  as  to  the  fate  of  him 
she  loved  and  had  lost,  she  broke  into  loud  sobs  and 
fled  back  to  the  Prophetess.  From  her,  indeed,  she 
got  small  comfort,  for  Miriam,  looking  forward  to 
hailing  her  husband  as  conqueror,  and  receiving  the 
friend  of  her  childhood  rescued  and  safe,  had  fallen 
into  a  brooding  and  anxious  mood;  it  seemed  as 
though  some  heavy  burthen  weighed  on  her  soul. 

As  soon  as  he  learnt  that  the  attack  on  the  mines 
had  proved  successful  and  that  Hosea  was  free, 
Moses  had  quitted  the  host  of  the  Hebrews.  He 
had  been  told  that  the  Amalekites,  a  warlike  race 
inhabiting  the  oasis  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai, 


JOSHUA.  363 

were  making  ready  to  hinder  the  advance  of  the 
exiles  across  their  palmy  and  fertile  island  in  the 
desert.  He  had  therefore  set  out  with  a  hand- 
ful of  picked  men,  to  make  his  way  across  the  range 
and  reconnoiter  the  enemy,  purposing  to  rejoin  the 
Israelites  between  Alush  and  Rephidim  which  lay  in 
the  valley  next  before  the  oasis. 

Abidah,  the  chief  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  with 
Hur  and  Nun  on  their  return  from  the  mines,  as  the 
heads  of  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Ephraim,  were  to 
fill  his  place  and  that  of  his  companions. 

Now,  as  the  multitude  came  nearer  to  the  pass  they 
must  climb,  Hur  and  some  of  the  freed  men  went 
forward  to  meet  them ;  one  especially,  outstripping 
the  rest,  Reuben  namely,  Milcah's  husband.  And 
she,  on  her  part,  had  recognized  him  from  afar  as 
he  sped  down  the  hill-side,  and,  in  spite  of  Miriam's 
remonstrance,  hurried  forward  as  far  as  to  the  midst 
of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  which  marched  ahead  of 
their  own.  And  there,  the  sight  of  their  meeting 
had  uplifted  many  a  dejected  soul;  and  when  at 
length,  clinging  closely  together,  they  hastened 
back  to  Miriam,  as  the  Prophetess  gazed  into  her 
little  friend's  face  she  thought  a  miracle  had  been 
wrought,  for  the  pale  lily  had  been  transformed  to  a 
blooming  and  glowing  rose.  And  her  lips,  which 
for  so  long  she  had  scarcely  ever  opened  but  for 
some  request  or  brief  reply,  now  were  never  still— 
for  how  much  she  wanted  to  know,  how  much  she 
had  to  ask  her  taciturn  husband,  who  had  suffered 
such  terrible  things  !  They  were  a  comely  and  joy- 


364  JOSHUA. 

f  ul  couple ;  and  to  them  their  path  lay  not  over  bare 
rocks  and  parched  desert-tracks,  but  through  a  land 
of  spring-flowers  where  brooks  murmured  and  birds 
sang.  And  Miriam,  who  had  done  her  utmost  to 
cheer  the  pining  girl,  rejoiced  at  the  sight  of  their 
happiness. 

Soon,  however,  every  gleam  of  glad  sympathy 
faded  from  her  face ;  for  while  Reuben  and  Milcah 
walked  on  winged  feet,  scarce  seeming  to  tread  the 
soil  of  the  desert,  she  marched  on  with  bowed  head, 
weighed  down  by  the  thought  that  she  herself  was 
alone  to  blame  if  no  such  happiness  as  theirs  was 
in  prospect  for  her  at  this  hour.  She  told  herself 
indeed  that  she  had  made  a  great  sacrifice,  pleasing 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  and  worthy  of  great  reward, 
in  refusing  to  hearken  to  the  voice  of  her  heart ;  but 
nevertheless  she  could  not  help  remembering  the 
Egyptian  woman  who  had  forbidden  her  to  account 
herself  as  one  of  those  who  truly  loved  Hosea, 
and  who  herself  had  died  so  young  for  her  love's 
sake. 

She,  Miriam,  was  alive ;  she  had  killed  the  most 
ardent  desires  of  her  heart ;  duty  forbade  her  now 
to  think  with  ardent  longing  of  the  man  who  lingered 
on  the  mountain-top,  devoted  wholly  to  the  cause  of 
his  people  and  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  a  free  and 
noble  soul,  the  future  leader  perhaps  of  her  nation's 
armies,  and,  if  Moses  would  have  it  so,  the  first  and 
most  influential  among  the  Hebrews  next  to  himself. 
But  lost,  forever  lost  to  her.  If  only,  on  that  fate- 
ful night,  she  had  followed  the  leading  of  her 


JOSHUA.  365 

woman's  heart  and  not  that  imperious  call  which 
placed  her  above  all  other  women,  he  would  long 
since  have  clasped  her  in  his  arms  as  Reuben  held 
his  poor,  weak  Milcah,  now  so  rich  in  joy  and 
renewed  strength. 

What  thoughts  were  these  !  She  must  drive  them 
down  to  the  deepest  recesses  of  her  heart  and  de- 
stroy them,  utterly ;  for  her  it  was  sin  to  long  so 
passionately  to  see  him  again,  and  she  wished  that 
her  husband  were  by  her  side  to  protect  her  against 
herself  and  the  forbidden  emotions  of  this  dreadful 
hour. 

Hur,  the  prince  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  was  her 
husband ;  not  the  Egyptian  Captain,  the  rescued 
captive.  What  could  she  henceforth  have  to  do 
with  this  son  of  Ephraim  whom  she  had  cast  off 
once  for  all.  Why  should  she  now  be  aggrieved  that 
he  did  not  hasten  to  meet  her,  why  should  she  cher- 
ish in  secret  a  foolish  hope  that  it  was  some  im- 
portant duty  which  withheld  him  on  the  mountain  ? 

She  scarcely  saw  or  heard  what  was  going  on 
around  her,  and  it  was  Milcah's  cry  of  glad  gratitude 
which  warned  her  of  Hur's  approach.  He  had  waved 
her  a  greeting  from  afar ;  but  he  was  alone,  without 
Hosea — or  Joshua,  whichever  he  called  himself ; 
and  the  fact  that  this  was  a  pang  to  her — nay,  that 
it  went  to  her  heart — enraged  her  against  herself. 
She  held  her  elderly  husband  in  true  esteem,  and  it 
was  with  no  effort  that  she  welcomed  him  with  af- 
fection. He  replied  to  her  greeting  with  heartfelt 
warmth ;  and  when  she  pointed  to  the  reunited  pair, 


i 


366  JOSHUA. 

and  lauded  him  as  a  conqueror  and  the  deliverer  of 
Reuben  and  his  many  fellow-victims,  he  frankly 
confessed  that  the  praise  was  not  to  him  but  to 
Joshua,  whom  she  herself  had  called  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  to  be  the  Captain  of  the  army  of  Israel. 

At  this  she  turned  pale,  and  though  the  path 
led  steeply  upwards,  she  pressed  her  husband  with 
urgent  questions.  When  she.  learnt  that  Joshua 
was  resting  on  the  ridge  with  his  father  and  the 
young  fighting-men,  and  drinking  wine,  and  that 
Hur  had  pledged  himself  to  withdraw  if  Moses 
should  appoint  Joshua  to  be  Captain  of  the  host, 
her  knit  brows  darkened  below  her  lofty  brow,  and 
with  stern  severity  she  replied  : 

"  You  are  my  lord,  and  it  ill  beseems  me  to  resist 
your  will,  even  when  you  so  far  forget  what  is  due 
to  your  wife  as  to  give  way  to  the  man  who  once 
dared  to  lift  his  eyes  to  her." 

Hur  eagerly  broke  in  : 

"  But  henceforth  you  are  as  a  stranger  to  him  ; 
and  even  if  I  would  give  you  a  bill  of  divorce  he 
would  no  longer  woo  you." 

"  Indeed !  "  said  she  with  a  forced  smile,  "  and  is 
it  to  him  that  you  owe  this  announcement  ?  " 

"  He  has  devoted  himself  body  and  soul  to  the 
welfare  of  the  people,  and  renounces  the  love  of 
woman,"  replied  Hur. 

But  she  exclaimed  : — "  Renunciation  is  easy  when 
desire  could  bring  nothing  in  its  train  but  rejection 
and  disgrace.  It  is  not  he,  who,  in  our  day  of 
greatest  need  sought  help  of  the  Egyptians — not 


JOSHUA.  367 

he,  but  you  who  ought  to  be  captain  over  the  fight- 
ing-men of  Israel — you  alone  who  led  the  Hebrews 
to  their  first  victory  at  the  Store-House  of  Succoth, 
and  whom  the  Lord  himself,  by  his  servant  Moses, 
charged  to  lead  the  fighting-men  of  Israel !  " 

At  this  Hur  looked  in  some  uneasiness  at  this 
woman  for  whom  a  late  but  ardent  love  had  glowed 
up  in  him,  and  seeing  her  bosom  heave  and  her 
cheeks  flush  red,  he  knew  not  whether  to  ascribe  it 
to  the  fatigue  of  climbing  or  the  lofty  ambition  of 
her  aspiring  soul,  which  she  had  now  transferred  to 
the  person  of  her  husband. 

He  was,  indeed,  glad  to  think  that  she  cared  so 
much  more  for  him  than  for  the  younger  and  more 
heroic  man  whose  return  had  caused  him  some 
anxiety  ;  still,  he  had  grown  gray  in  the  stern  fulfil- 
ment of  duty,  and  what  he  thought  it  right  to  do  no 
man  could  hinder  his  doing.  To  the  wife  of  his 
youth,  whom  he  had  buried  many  years  since,  his 
merest  sign  had  been  a  command,  and  from  Miriam 
he  had  as  yet  met  with  no  contradiction.  That 
Joshua  was  the  most  fit  to  command  the  fighting 
men  was  beyond  a  doubt,  and  he  replied,  panting 
somewhat,  for  he  too  found  the  ascent  hard : — 

"  Your  high  esteem  honors  and  pleases  me ;  but 
although  Moses  and  the  Elders  have  promoted  me, 
you  must  remember  the  Heap  at  Succoth,  and  my 
vow.  I  bear  it  in  mind  and  shall  abide  by  it." 

She  looked  aside  and  said  no  more  till  they  had 
had  reached  the  top. 

The  victorious  youths  hailed  them  from  the  summit 


368  JOSHUA. 

with  loud  acclamations.  The  joy  of  meeting,  the 
provisions  they  had  won  from  the  foe,  and  the  good 
drink  which  was  sparingly  measured  out  to  revive 
those  who  needed  it,  raised  the  fallen  courage  of  the 
exhausted  wanderers,  and  the  thirsty  multitude 
shortened  their  rest  on  the  ridge  to  reach  Dophkah 
all  the  sooner.  They  had  heard  from  Joshua  that 
they  would  find  there,  not  only  some  ruined  tanks, 
but  also  a  hidden  spring  of  whose  existence  he  had 
been  informed  by  the  driver  of  the  gang  of  prisoners. 

Their  way  now  lay  down  hill.  Haste  is  the  watch- 
word when  thirsty  souls  know  that  wells  are  within 
reach ;  and  soon  after  sunset  they  arrived  in  the 
valley  of  turquoise-mines,  where  they  encamped  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the  now  ruined  stronghold 
and  store-houses  of  Dophkah  had  lately  stood.  The 
well,  hidden  in  a  grove  of  acacia  sacred  to  Hathor, 
was  very  soon  discovered.  Fires  were  quickly 
lighted,  the  wavering  hearts  which  in  the  desert  of 
Sin  had  sunk  almost  to  despair,  now  swelled  again 
with  the  love  of  life,  with  hope  and  thankful  trust. 
The  fine  acacia-trees  indeed  were  felled  to  open  a 
way  to  the  spring,  whose  refreshing  waters  worked 
the  wondrous  change. 

Joshua  and  Miriam  had  met  on  the  ridge,  but  had 
only  had  time  for  a  brief  greeting.  Here,  in  the 
camp,  they  were  thrown  together  once  more. 

It  was  already  late,  for  the  Elders  had  held  long 
council  as  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  against  an 
unexpected  attack  of  the  Amalekites.  Nun  and 
Joshua  had  joined  the  assembly.  The  princely  and 


JOSHUA.  369 

reverend  old  man's  son  had  been  gladly  welcomed, 
and  his  counsel  that  they  should  form  a  vanguard 
of  the  younger  men  and  a  reserve  of  the  older  war- 
riors was  readily  agreed  to ;  they  were  also  to  send 
small  parties  of  picked  men  to  spy  out  the  enemy. 
Joshua  found  himself  in  fact  entrusted  with  every 
thing  appertaining  to  the  conduct  and  safety  of  a 
considerable  army.  God  himself  had  chosen  him  to 
be  their  captain,  and  Moses,  by  leaving  him  that 
warning  word  to  be  "  Steadfast  and  Strong,"  had 
confirmed  him  in  the  office.  Hur,  likewise,  who  as 
yet  held  the  post,  was  ready  to  resign  it  to  him  ;  and 
of  a  surety  that  man  would  keep  his  word,  although 
he  had  not  yet  declared  his  purpose  before  the 
Elders.  At  any  rate  Joshua  was  treated  as  though 
he  were  indeed  the  Captain,  and  he  felt  himself  their 
leader. 

After  the  assembly  of  the  Elders  had  broken  up, 
Hur  had  desired  Joshua  to  accompany  him  to  his 
tent,  notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  hour  ;  and 
the  warrior  had  consented,  for  indeed  he  desired  to 
speak  fully  to  Miriam.  He  would  fain  prove  to  her 
in  her  husband's  presence  that  he  had  found  the 
path  which  she  had  so  zealously  pointed  out  to  him. 

The  tenderest  passions  of  a  Hebrew  must  be  dumb 
in  the  presence  of  another  man's  wife.  Miriam  must 
know  full  well  that  he  had  nothing  more  to  ask  of 
her.  Indeed  he  had  entirely  ceased,  even  in  his 
hours  of  solitude,  to  care  or  long  for  her.  He  con- 
fessed to  himself  that  she  was  a  grand  and  queenly 
woman,  but  now  he  felt  a  chill  as  he  thought  of  that 
24 


3/0  JOSHUA. 

lofty  dignity.  Nay,  all  her  doings  appeared  to  him 
now  in  a  new  light.  When  she  greeted  him  on  the 
hill-top  with  a  cold  smile  he  had  felt  convinced  that 
henceforth  they  were  strangers  indeed ;  and  as  they 
sat  by  the  blazing  fire  in  front  of  the  Elder's  tent, 
where  they  now  met  again,  this  feeling  grew  stronger 
and  stronger. 

Miriam  had  long  since  parted  from  Reuben  and 
his  Milcah,  and  during  her  solitary  waiting  many 
thoughts  had  coursed  through  her  brain  of  what  she 
would  now  make  this  man  feel — the  man  to  whom 
in  an  hour  of  strong  excitement  she  had  opened  the 
depths  of  her  soul. 

We  are  always  most  prone  to  be  angry  with  those 
to  whom  we  have  done  a  wrong,  and  the  woman 
holds  the  gift  of  her  love  as  so  great  and  precious 
that  even  the  man  she  afterwards  rejects  is  to  think 
of  her  with  gratitude  forever  after.  And  Joshua 
had  boasted  that  he  had  ceased  to  care  for  her  whom 
he  had  once  ardently  desired,  and  who  had  confessed 
her  love  for  him — yea,  even  if  she  were  offered  to 
him.  Aye,  and  he  had  proved  his  words,  for  he  had 
been  content  to  wait  with  the  others  instead  of 
coming  to  meet  her. 

At  last  he  came,  and  with  him  her  husband  who 
was  so  ready  to  make  way  for  him.  But  she  was 
still  here  to  keep  her  eyes  open  in  behalf  of  the  too 
generous  Hur. 

The  older  man,  to  whose  fate  she  had  linked  her 
own,  and  whose  faithful  devotion  touched  her 
deeply,  should  not  be  supplanted  by  any  other  man 


JOSHUA.  371 

in  the  high  place  he  filled  by  right ;  he  must  cling  to 
it,  if  only  because  she  did  not  choose  to  be  the  wife 
of  any  man  who  could  not  assert  himself  as  the  fore- 
most of  the  Hebrews  after  her  own  brothers. 

Never  had  this  much-venerated  woman,  who  for 
her  part  believed  too  in  her  own  gift  of  prophecy, 
felt  so  bitter,  so  sore  and  indignant.  She  did  not 
own  it  to  herself,  but  it  was  as  though  the  hatred 
which  Moses  had  fired  in  her  soul  against  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  which  no  longer  had  an  outlet,  needed 
some  fresh  object,  and  was  now  turned  against  the 
only  man  she  ever  had  loved.  But  a  true  woman 
can  make  a  show  of  friendship  in  word  and  demeanor 
to  every  one  excepting  those  she  scorns,  and  Miriam 
received  her  belated  guest  with  haughty  but  gracious 
condescension,  and  begged  him  to  give  her  further 
details  as  to  his  captivity  and  release.  But  she 
called  him  by  his  old  name  of  Hosea,  and,  when  he 
perceived  that  this  was  evidently  intentional,  he 
asked  her  whether  she  had  forgotten  that  it  was  she 
he-rself  who,  as  the  messenger  of  the  Most  High,  had 
bidden  him  henceforth  to  call  himself  Joshua.  To 
this  she  replied,  and  her  features  assumed  a  sharper 
gravity  of  expression,  'that  her  memory  Avas  good, 
but  that  she  would  fain  forget  the  time  he  referred 
to.  He  himself  had  rejected  the  name  bestowed  on 
him  by  the  Lord,  inasmuch  as  he  had  preferred  to 
seek  the  favor  of  the  Egyptian  King  rather  than  the 
help  promised  him  by  God.  She,  faithful  to  her  old 
habits,  should  continue  to  call  him  Hosea. 

The  simple-hearted  soldier  was  not  prepared  for 


3/2  JOSHUA. 

such  a  hostile  tone ;  however,  he  preserved  a  fit- 
tingly calm  demeanor,  and  replied  with  composure 
that  he  would  but  rarely  give  her  the  opportunity 
of  calling  him  by  any  name.  Those  who  were  his 
friends  found  no  difficulty  in  learning  to  call  him 
Joshua. 

To  this  Miriam  answered  that  she  likewise  would 
be  willing  to  do  so  if  her  husband  agreed,  and  he 
himself  insisted  on  it,  for  a  man's  name  was  but  as 
a  garment.  With  offices  and  dignities  it  was  an- 
other matter. 

When  Joshua  then  declared  that  he  had  always 
believed  that  it  was  God  himself  who  had  called  him 
by  the  voice  of  His  prophetess,  herself,  to  be  the 
Captain  of  the  hosts  of  Israel,  and  that  he  conceded 
to  no  man,  save  only  to  Moses,  the  right  to  deprive 
him  of  that  office,  Hur  agreed  with  him,  and  offered 
him  his  hand. 

At  this  Miriam  threw  off  the  self-control  she  had 
hitherto  preserved,  and  exclaimed  with  vehement 
defiance  : 

"  In  this  I  am  not  of  your  mind  !  You  evaded 
the  call  of  the  Most  High  !  Can  you  deny  it !  And 
inasmuch  as  the  Almighty  found  you  at  Pharaoh's 
footstool,  instead  of  at  the  head  of  His  people,  He 
deprived  you  of  the  office  to  which  He  had  raised 
you.  He  Himself,  the  Mightiest  of  Captains,  com- 
manded the  wind  and  waves,  and  they  swallowed  up 
the  enemy.  Thus  ended  they  who  had  been  your 
friends  till  their  heavy  fetters  taught  you  what  their 
feelings  were  to  your  and  your  people. 


JOSHUA.  373 

"  I  sang  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Lord,  and  the 
people  joined  in  my  thanksgiving.  And  on  that 
same  day  God  called  another  man  than  you  to  be 
chief  of  the  Hebrew  host,  and  he,  as  you  know,  is 
my  husband.  And  although  Hur  indeed  has  never 
learnt  the  arts  of  war,  yet  the  Lord  surely  guides 
his  arm  ;  and  who  is  it  that  giveth  the  victory  but 
the  Lord  Almighty  ?  My  husband,  I  tell  you  once 
again — my  husband  alone  is  the  Captain,  and  though, 
in  his  excess  of  generosity,  he  forgets  it,  yet  he  will 
assert  his  right  to  his  office  when  he  remembers 
whose  hand  it  was  that  chose  him ;  and  I,  his  wife, 
lift  up  my  voice  to  bring  it  to  his  mind." 

On  this  Joshua  turned  to  go,  to  put  an  end  to  this 
unpleasant  discussion,  but  Hur,  very  wroth  at  his 
wife's  interference  between  them,  held  him  fast,  as- 
suring him  that  he  should  abide  by  his  renunciation. 
The  wind  might  blow  away  a  woman's  words  of  dis- 
pleasure ;  it  must  rest  with  Moses  to  declare  whom 
the  Lord  had  chosen  to  be  Captain  of  His  people. 

As  he  spoke  Hur  looked  in  his  wife's  face  with 
stern  dignity,  as  warning  her  to  reflect,  and  this 
seemed  to  have  had  the  desired  effect,  as  Miriam 
turned  first  pale  and  then  deep  scarlet,  and  she  too 
detained  their  guest  as  though  she  desired  to  make 
amends,  beckoning  him  with  a  trembling  hand  to 
come  closer  to  her. 

"  Yet  one  thing  I  must  say,"  she  began  with  a 
deep  breath,  "  that  you  may  not  misunderstand  me. 
I  call  every  man  my  friend  who  devotes  himself  to 
the  cause  of  Israel,  and  Hur  has  told  me  how  much 


374  JOSHUA. 

you  purpose  to  sacrifice  to  our  people.  It  was  your 
confidence  in  Pharaoh's  clemency  which  came  be- 
tween us — and  I  know  how  to  value  your  deep  and 
decisive  breach  with  the  Egyptians.  Still,  I  only 
truly  understood  the  greatness  of  your  deed  when  I 
learnt  that  it  was  not  only  lifelong  habit,,  but  an- 
other and  stronger  tie  that  bound  you  to  the  foe." 

o  */ 

"  "What  is  the  aim  of  such  a  speech  ? "  Joshua 
broke  in,  feeling  quite  sure  that  she  was  laying  some 
fresh  arrow  to  the  bow-string,  intended  to  wound 
him.  But  she  paid  no  heed  to  the  interruption  and 
went  on  with  a  defiant  sparkle  in  her  eye  which 
belied  the  moderation  of  her  tongue : 

"  After  the  guidance  of  the  Lord  had  saved  us 
from  the  foe,  the  sea  cast  up  on  shore  the  fairest 
woman  we  had  seen  for  many  a  day.  I  bound  up 
the  wounds  inflicted  on  her  by  a  Hebrew  woman, 
and  she  then  confessed  that  she  was  full  of  love  for 
you,  and  with  her  dying  breath  spoke  of  you  as  the 
idol  of  her  heart." 

At  this  Joshua,  deeply  incensed,  exclaimed  :- 

"  If  this  were  all  the  truth,  O  wife  of  Hur,  then 
my  father  would  have  told  me  an  untruth.  For,  as 
I  learnt  from  him,  it  was  in  the  presence  of  those 
only  who  love  me  that  the  hapless  woman  made  her 
last  confession  :  not  before  you.  And  she  was  wise 
to  mistrust  your  presence,  for  you  would  never  have 
understood  her ! " 

He  saw  a  supercilious  smile  play  -on  Miriam's  lips, 
but  he  heeded  it  not  and  went  on.  "Your  wit  is — 
oh  !  ten  times  keener  than  that  poor  child's  ever  was. 


JOSHUA.  37$ 

But  in  your  heart,  which,  once  was  open  to  such 
great  things,  there  is  no  room  for  love.  It  will  grow 
old  and  cease  to  beat  before  it  has  learnt  what  love 
is !  Yea,  in  spite  of  your  flashing  eyes  I  tell  you 
this :  you  are  indeed  more  than  a  woman,  you  are  a 
prophetess,  and  I  cannot  boast  of  such  grace.  I  am 
no  more  than  a  man,  and  understand  the  use  of  the 
sword  better  than  looking  into  futurity.  And 
nevertheless  I  can  foretell  one  thing ;  you  will  cher- 
ish the  hatred  of  me  which  burns  in  your  soul — you 
will  even  light  up  the  flame  in  your  husband's  heart 
and  strive  to  fan  it  with  the  utmost  zeal.  And  I 
know  why !  The  fiery  ambition  which  possesses 
you  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  happy  as  the  wife  of  a 
man  who  must  stand  second  to  another : — You  re- 
fuse to  call  me  by  the  name  you  yourself  gave  me. 
But  if  hatred  and  pride  do  not  altogether  choke  the 
one  feeling  which  unites  us,  namely  our  love  of  our 
people,  the  day  will  come  when  of  your  own  free 
will  you  will  approach  me  and  call  me  Joshua,  un- 
bidden, out  of  the  fulness  of  your  heart ! " 

With  these  words  he  bowed  his  head  in  brief 
farewell  to  Miriam  and  her  husband,  and  disap- 
peared in  the  darkness. 

Hur  looked  after  him  gloomily  and  spoke  not  a 
word  till  the  footsteps  of  their  departing  guest  had 
died  away  in  the  silence  of  the  night.  Till  this  hour 
he  had  always  looked  up  to  his  wife  with  tender 
admiration,  but  now  the  wrath  he  had  restrained 
with  difficulty  knew  no  bounds.  With  two  long 
strides  he  came  close  to  her ;  she  was  even  paler 


376  JOSHUA. 

than  he,  as  she  stood  gazing  into  the  fire  like  one 
distraught.  His  voice  had  lost  its  rich  metallic  ring, 
and  sounded  harsh  and  thin  as  he  said  : — 

"  I  was  so  bold  as  to  woo  a  maiden  who  believed 
herself  nearer  to  God  than  other  women,  and  now 
she  is  mine  she  makes  me  repent  of  my  audacity  !  " 

"  Repent  ? "  she  panted  with  white  lips,  and  as 
she  looked  up  at  him  a  defiant  glance  sparkled  in 
her  black  eyes. 

He  seized  her  hand  with  so  firm  a  grip  that  it 
hurt  her,  and  went  on  as  he  had  begun : — "  Yes,  you 
make  me  repent  of  it !  Shame  on  me  if  I  suffered 
this  hour  of  degradation  to  be  folloAved  by  such  an- 
other!" 

She  tried  to  wrench  her  hand  free,  but  he  would 
not  surrender  it,  and  went  on : — "  I  wooed  and  won 
you  to  be  the  pride  of  my  house.  I  believed  I  was 
sowing  honor,  I  have  reaped  dishonor — for  what 
deeper  disgrace  may  befall  a  man  than  that  the 
wife  should  have  the  mastery  and  dare  to  wound 
the  heart  of  his  friend,  whom  hospitality  should  pro- 
tect, with  hostile  words.  A  woman,  such  as  you 
are  not,  a  simple,  right-minded  wife,  who  could  look 
back  on  her  husband's  past  life  and  think  not  merely 
of  how  he  may  gain  promotion  because  she  desires 
to  share  his  greatness — such  a  wife  would  not  need 
to  be  reminded  that  Hur,  the  man  who  is  your  hus- 
band, has  earned  dignities  and  honors  enough  in  the 
course  of  a  long  life  to  be  able  to  lay  down  some 
portion  of  them  without  losing  anything  by  it.  Not 
he  who  is  chief  in  command,  but  he  who  does  most 


JOSHUA.  377 

from  self-sacrificing  love  of  his  nation,  is  the  great- 
est in  Jehovah's  sight.  You  crave  to  stand  aloof 
and  be  honored  by  the  crowd  as  the  chosen  hand- 
maid of  God.  I  do  not  forbid  it,  so  long  as  you  do 
not  forget  what  your  duty  as  a  wife  and  mistress 
requires  of  you.  To  me,  indeed,  you  also  owe  love, 
for  you  promised  to  love  me  on  the  day  when  we 
were  wed  :  howbeit,  the  human  heart  can  only  give 
what  it  has  to  give ;  and  Hosea  is  right  when  he 
says  that  the  love  which  glows  and  gives  warmth  is 
far  from  your  cold  soul." 

He  turned  his  back  on  her  and  withdrew  into  the 
darkness  of  the  tent ;  she  remained  standing  by  the 
fire,  the  flickering  blaze  lighting  up  her  beautiful 
pallid  features.  She  set  her  teeth  tightly  and 
clenched  her  hands  over  her  heaving  bosom  as  she 
gazed  after  her  husband.  He  had  stood  before  her  in 
the  consciousness  of  his  dignity,  gray-haired,  tall,  and 
reverend,  a  worthy  and  princely  leader  of  the  people. 
Each  of  his  words  had  pierced  her  heart  like  a  spear- 
thrust.  The  power  of  truth  had  weighted  his 
speech,  and  had  held  up  a  mirror  to  Miriam  which 
showed  her  own  image  from  which  she  started  in 
horror.  Now  she  longed  to  hasten  after  him,  and 
beseech  him  to  give  her  again  the  love  with  Avhich 
he  had  hitherto  surrounded  her ;  she,  alone  in  the 
world,  had  gratefully  acknowledged  that  she  felt 
that  she  could  fully  return  the  precious  boon,  for 
she  longed,  ah,  how  ardently,  to  hear  one  kind  and 
forgiving  word  from  his  lips.  Her  own  heart 
seemed  to  her  as  a  cornfield  blighted  by  malignant 


3/8  JOSHUA. 

mildew ;  withered,  dried  up  and  ruined,  where  all 
had  been  so  fresh  and  blossoming. 

Her  thoughts  flew  to  the  rich  arable  of  Goshen, 
which,  after  bearing  the  richest  crops,  remained 
hard  and  parched  till  the  river  rose  to  soften  it 
again,  and  bring  the  seed  laid  in  its  bosom  to  life 
and  verdure.  Thus  was  it  with  her ;  but  she  had 
cast  the  ripening  ears  into  the  fire,  and  wilfully 
built  up  a  dam  between  the  beneficent  stream  and 
the  dry  land. 

But  there  was  yet  time.  She  knew  indeed  that 
in  one  thing  he  was  unjust,  that  she  was  a  woman 
like  any  other,  and  capable  of  devoting  herself  with 
passionate  ardor  to  the  man  she  loved.  It  depended 
only  on  her  to  prove  this  to  him  and  bring  him  to 
her  arms.  Just  now,  to  be  sure,  he  had  a  right  to 
regard  her  as  hard  and  unfeeling ;  for  there,  where 
love  was  wont  to  bloom,  a  bitter  spring  had  risen 
which  poisoned  all  it  touched. 

"Was  this  the  revenge  taken  by  her  heart  whose 
ardent  desires  she  had  so  heroically  smothered  ? 

God  had  scorned  her  most  precious  offering ;  it 
was  impossible  to  doubt  the  fact.  His  presence  no 
longer  uplifted  her  soul  in  visions  of  glory,  and  she 
could  hardly  call  herself  His  prophetess  any  longer. 
This  sacrifice  had  led  her,  who  was  truthful,  to 
falsehood ;  conscious  of  always  desiring  the  right 
she  had  hitherto  lived  at  peace  with  herself ;  now 
she  suffered  tortures  of  unrest.  Since  that  momen- 
tous step,  nothing  she  cared  for  had  smiled  on  her 
who  had  been  so  full  of  hope.  She  who  had  never 


JOSHUA.  379 

seen  the  woman  for  whom  she  need  make  way,  had 
been  sent  from  the  presence  of  a  poor,  dying  stranger- 
She  had  always  felt  kindly  to  every  one  who  loved 
her  race  and  the  sacred  cause  of  her  people,  and 
now  she  had  insulted  one  of  their  best  and  noblest 
champions  with  bitter  wrath.  The  poorest  serf's 
wife  could  win  the  husband  who  loved  her  to  a  closer 
union,  and  she  had  only  estranged  hers. 

She  had  come  to  his  hearth  seeking  only  shelter 
from  the  cold,  but  she  had  found  unexpected  warmth, 
and  his  generosity  and  love  had  fallen  on  her  aching 
soul  like  balm.  He  could  not  indeed  give  her  back 
what  she  had  lost,  but  he  was  a  welcome  substitute. 
And  he  now  believed  her  incapable  of  a  tender 
emotion;  still,  she  must  have  love  to  live,  and 
no  sacrifice  would  be  too  great  to  win  him  back 
again. 

But  pride  was  no  less  a  condition  of  her  existence, 
and  each  time  she  made  up  her  mind  to  humble  her- 
self and  open  her  heart  to  her  husband,  a  fear  of 
degradation  checked  her ;  and  there  she  stood  as 
though  spell-bound,  till  the  brands  at  her  feet  fell 
over  and  died  out,  and  darkness  surrounded  her. 

Then  a  strange  fear  fell  upon  her. 

Two  bats,  which  had  come  forth  from  the  mines 
to  flutter  round  the  fire,  flew  close  to  her  face  with 
a  ghostly  stir.  Everything  prompted  her  to  retire 
to  the  tent,  to  go  back  to  her  husband,  and  with 
sudden  decision  she  went  into  the  spacious  room, 
lighted  by  a  lamp.  But  Hur  was  not  there,  and  a 
slave  girl  who  met  her,  told  her  that  he  had  said  he 


380  JOSHUA. 

would  remain  with  his  son  and  grandson  till  it  was 
time  to  depart. 

A  sense  of  bitter  woe  fell  upon  her ;  she  lay  down 
to  rest,  more  desolate  and  shame-stricken  than  she 
had  ever  felt  since  her  childhood. 

A  few  hours  later  the  camp  was  alive,  and  when, 
in  the  gray  light  of  dawn,  her  husband  entered  the 
tent  with  a  brief  greeting,  her  pride  once  more  up- 
lifted its  head,  and  her  reply  was  'cold  and  demure. 

He  was  not  alone ;  his  son  TJri  followed  him  in. 
He  looked  graver  too  than  usual,  for  the  men  of 
Judah  had  assembled  at  an  early  hour  and  besought 
him  not  to  surrender  the  Captaincy  in  favor  of 
a  man  of  another  tribe  than  theirs. 

This  had  come  upon  him  as  a  surprise.  He  could 
only  refer  them  to  Moses,  and  the  hope  that  their 
leader's  decision  might  be  given  against  himself  grew 
keener  as  his  young  wife's  resolute  glance  again 
roused  his  spirit  to  opposition. 


JOSHUA.  381 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WITH  refreshed  body  and  revived  heart  the 
Hebrews  set  forth  again  early  on  the  following 
morning ;  and  by  this  time  the  little  spring,  which 
they  had  even  dug  deeper  to  promote  its  flow,  was 
for  the  time  exhausted.  They  cared  the  less  that  it 
refused  to  yield  any  water  to  carry  on  their  journey, 
because  they  expected  to  find  more  wells  at  Alush. 

The  sun  mounted  the  cloudless  sky  in  radiant  maj- 
esty. Its  splendor  exerted  its  stirring  influence  on  the 
hearts  of  men  even,  and  the  rocks  and  yellow  sandy 
soil,  shone  as  brightly  as  the  blue  vault  above.  The 
pure  aromatic  air  of  the* desert,  cooled  by  the  hours 
of  darkness,  was  so  light  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
breathe,  and  walking  was  enjoyment. 

The  men  showed  firmer  confidence,  and  the 
women's  eyes  flashed  more  brightly  than  for  some 
time  past,  for  the  Lord  had  shown  once  more  that 
He  was  mindful  of  His  people  in  their  need ;  and 
fathers  and  mothers  looked  fondly  on  the  sons  who 
had  overpowered  the  enemy.  In  e\7ery  tribe  some 
one  had  been  welcomed  home  who  had  been  given 
up  for  lost,  and  it  was  a  joyful  duty  to  heal  the  in- 
juries inflicted  by  the  hard  labor  of  the  mines. 
Moreover  Joshua 's  deliverance  was  a  cause  of  re- 


382  JOSHUA. 

joicing,  not  alone  among  his  people  but  throughout 
the  multitude ;  and  by  all,  excepting  those  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  he  was  now  called  by  that  new 
name  with  fall  belief  in  the  comforting  promise  con- 
veyed by  it.  The  young  men  who,  under  him,  had 
put  the  Egyptians  to  rout,  told  in  their  tribes  what 
sort  of  man  Joshua  was  ;  how  he  thought  of  every- 
thing and  put  every  one  in  the  very  place  where  he 
could  do  best.  The  mere  light  of  his  eye  as  it  fell 
on  a  man  fired  his  warlike  ardor ;  the  foe  quaked 
only  to  hear  him  shout  the  battle-cry. 

And  those  who  spoke  of  old  Nun,  or  of  the  noble 
lad  his  grandson,  did  so  with  kindling  glances.  The 
high  pretensions  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  had  often 
been  a  source  of  disagreement,  but  on  this  occasion 
it  was  by  common  consent  allowed  to  march  first. 
Only  the  men  of  Judah  were  heard  to  murmur  and 
complain.  They  must,  no  doubt,  have  some  serious 
ground  of  discontent,  for  Hur,  the  prince  of  their 
tribe,  and  his  wife  walked  on  with  bowed  heads  as 
if  oppressed  by  a  heavy  burthen,  and  those  who  spoke 
with  them,  had  certainly  better  have  chosen  some 
other  opportunity.  So  long  as  the  sun's  rays  still 
fell  aslant,  there  was  a  little  shade  cast  by  the  sand- 
stone peaks  which  hemmed  the  path  in  on  both  sides 
or  stood  up  in  its  midst,  and  when  the  sons  of  Korah 
began  to  sing  a  hymn,  old  and  young  joined  in ; 
Milcah,  no  longer  pallid,  loudest  and  gladdest  of 
all,  and  Reuben  her  released  and  happy  husband. 

The  children  picked  up  the  golden  fruits  of  the 
Colocinth,  which  fell  from  the  now  withered  gourds 


JOSHUA.  383 

above  as  if  they  dropped  from  heaven,  and  brought 
them  to  their  parents.  But  they  were  as  bitter  as 
gall  to  eat,  and  a  morose  old  man  of  the  tribe  of 
Zebulon,  who  kept  some  of  the  stout  rinds  to  serve 
to  hold  salve,  said  : — "  Thus  will  this  day  be:  It  has 
a  fair  seeming ;  but  when  the  sun  is  high  and  we 
lack  water  we  shall  know  its  bitterness  !  " 

And  his  prophecy  was  only  too  soon  fulfilled ;  for 
the  path,  after  leaving  the  region  of  sand,  went  on 
through  rocky  cliffs  like  walls  of  red  brick  and  gray 
stone,  up  and  up,  now  at  an  easy  slope  and  now 
very  steep ;  the  sun  too  mounted  higher  and  higher, 
and  the  heat  increased  as  the  hours  went  on.  Never 
had  its  arrows  fallen  more  cruelly  on  the  pilgrims, 
striking  pitilessly  on  their  unprotected  heads  and 
necks.  Here  an  old  man  and  there  a  young  one 
sank  to  the  ground  under  its  fierce  glow,  or  tottered 
forward  like  one  drunk,  supported  by  his  neighbors 
and  clasping  his  hand  to  his  brow.  The  blistered 
skin  peeled  off  their  faces  and  hands,  and  there  was 
not  one  whose  tongue  and  gums  were  not  dried  by 
the  heat,  or  whose  newly  found  courage  it  did  not 
quell. 

The  beasts  toiled  sullenly  forward  with  drooping 
heads  and  heavy  feet,  or  rolled  rebelliously  in  the 
sand  till  the  herdsman's  thong  compelled  them  to 
collect  their  strength  for  a  fresh  effort. 

At  noon  the  Israelites  were  allowed  to  halt,  but 
there  was  not  a  hand  breadth  of  shade  to  give  them 
the  reprieve  they  sought;  and  those  who  threw 
themselves  down  on  the  ground  found  fresh  torment 


384  JOSHUA. 

instead  of  rest.  Thus  the  hapless  wretches  of  their 
own  accord  set  forth  again  soon  for  the  wells  of 
Alush. 

Until  this  day,  as  soon  as  the  sun  had  passed 
the  meridian  and  begun  to  sink  towards  the  west, 
the  heat  had  abated,  and  a  fresher  breeze  fanned 
their  brows  before  the  fall  of  dusk  ;  but  here  the 
rocks  for  hours  gave  forth  the  heat  they  had  absorbed 
from  the  noontide  sun,  till  at  length  a  faintly  cooler 
breath  came  up  from  the  sea  on  the  west.  At  the 
same  time  the  vanguard  which,  by  Joshua's  advice, 
marched  foremost,  halted,  and  the  whole  multitude 
came  to  a  standstill.  Men,  women  and  children  all 
fixed  their  eyes  and  pointed  with  hands,  sticks  and 
crooks  to  the  same  spot,  for  there,  before  them,  a 
strange  and  novel  spectacle  attracted  their  gaze.  A 
shout  of  amazement  and  delight  broke  from  their 
parched  and  weary  lips  which  had  long  since  ceased  to 
stir  for  speech  ;  it  rapidly  spread  from  one  division  to 
the  next,  from  tribe  to  tribe,  to  the  lepers  that  closed 
the  train  and  the  rear  guard  beyond.  One  and 
another  elbowed  his  neighbor  and  whispered  a  name 
familiar  to  them  all — that  of  the  Holy  Mountain 
where  the  Lord  had  promised  to  Moses  that  he  would 
lead  His  people  into  a  good  and  pleasant  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey.  None  had  told  the  weary 
multitude  that  this  was  the  place,  and  yet  they  knew 
that  they  beheld  Horeb  and  the  peak  of  Sinai,  the 
most  sacred  summit  of  this  mass  of  granite. 

Although  but  a  mountain,  yet  was  it  the  throne 
of  the  Almighty  God  of  their  fathers ! 


JOSHUA.  385 

At  this  hour  the  whole  sacred  hill  seemed,  like 
the  burning  bush  out  of  which  He  had  there  spoken 
to  His  chosen  servant,  to  be  steeped  in  fire.  Its 
seven-peaked  crown  towered  from  afar,  high  above 
the  hills  and  vales  that  surrounded  it,  burning  like 
an  enormous  ruby  lighted  up  by  a  blaze  of  glory  in 
the  clouds. 

Such  a  sight  none  of  them  had  ever  beheld.  But 
the  sun  sank  lower  and  lower,  and  disappeared  in 
the  sea,  which  the  mountain  hid  from  their  view ; 
the  glowing  ruby  turned  to  solemn  amethyst  and 
then  to  the  deep  purple  of  the  violet ;  but  the  people 
still  gazed  spell-bound  on  the  holy  mount.  Nay, 
even  when  the  day-star  had  altogether  vanished, 
and  only  its  reflection  bordered  the  edge  of  a  long, 
level  cloud  with  gleaming  gold,  they  opened  their 
eyes  the  wider,  for  a  man  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
his  brain  turned  by  the  splendor  of  the  scene,  de- 
clared that  they  beheld  the  trailing  mantle  of 
Jehovah,  and  those  about  him  to  whom  he  pointed 
it  out  caught  the  pious  rapture. 

For  a  little  while  the  pilgrims  had  forgotten 
thirst  and  exhaustion  in  watching  •  the  inspiring 
spectacle.  But  ere  long  their  high  enthusiasm  was 
turned  to  the  deepest  discouragement,  for, '  when 
night  fell,  and  after  a  short  march  they  reached  the 
wells  of  Alush,  it  was  discovered  that  the  desert- 
tribe  which  had  encamped  here  yesterday,  had  choked 
the  spring,  which  at  best  was  but  brackish,  with 
stones  and  rubbish. 

All  the  water  they  had  carried  with  them  had 


386  JOSHUA. 

been  used  before  reaching  Dophkah,  and  the  ex- 
hausted spring  at  the  mines  had  not  sufficed  to  fill 
the  skins.  Thirst,  which  at  first  had  only  dried 
their  gums,  now  began  to  burn  their  vitals.  Their 
scorched  throats  could  not  swallow  the  solid  food  of 
which  they  had  abundance.  On  every  side  there 
was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  heart-broken  looks  and 
pitiable  or  disgraceful  scenes.  Men  and  women 
storming,  cursing,  weeping  and  groaning,  or  else 
sunk  in  morose  despair.  Some,  whose  wailing  in- 
fants clamored  for  water,  had  gathered  round  the 
choked  well  and  were  fighting  for  a  spot  on  the 
ground  where  they  hoped  to  collect  a  few  drops  of 
the  precious  ftuid  in  a  sherd.  And  the  beasts  lowed 
and  bleated  so  miserably  that  it  cut  their  drivers  to 
the  heart  like  a  reproach. 

Very  few  cared  to  exert  themselves  to  pitch  a 
tent.  The  night  Avas  so  warm,  and  the  sooner  they 
went  forward  the  better ;  for  Moses  had  promised 
to  join  them  again  at  a  spot  but  a  few  hours  further 
on.  He  alone  could  help  them  ;  it  was  his  bounden 
duty  to  save  man  and  beast  from  perishing  of 
drought. 

If  the  God  who  had  promised  them  such  great 
things  left  them  to  perish  in  the  wilderness  with  all 
their  little  ones, -then  the  man  in  whose  guidance 
they  had  put  their  trust  was  a  deceiver,  and  the  God 
whose  power  and  mercy  he  was  never  weary  of 
preaching  to  them,  was  false  and  feebler  than  the 
idols  with  heads  of  men  and  beasts,  wrhom  they  had 
worshipped  in  Egypt.  Blasphemy  and  curses  were 


JOSHUA.  387 

mingled  with  threats — and  when  Aaron  came  forth 
to  comfort  the  thirsty  pilgrims  with  words  of  hope, 
many  a  clenched  fist  was  shaken  at  him. 

Even  Miriam  was  presently  forbidden  by  her 
husband  to  console  the  women  with  kindly  speech, 
for  a  woman  whose  sinking  child  clung  dying  to  its 
mother's  dried-up  breast,  had  picked  up  a  stone  to 
fling,  and  others  had  followed  her  example. 

Old  Nun  and  his  son  were  more  fortunate.  They 
were  both  agreed  that  Josjiua  must  fight,  whatever 
post  Moses  might  desire  him  to  fill ;  and  Hur  him- 
self had  led  him  forth  to  the  fighting-men  who  had 
hailed  him  gladly.  The  old  man  and  his  son  both 
knew  the  secret  of  inspiring  courage.  They  spoke 
to  the  men,  of  the  well-watered  oasis  of  the  Amale- 
kites,  which  was  now  not  far  away,  and  reminded 
them  that  the  Lord  Himself  had  provided  the  weapons 
they  held  in  their  hands.  Joshua  assured  them,  too, 
that  they  far  out-numbered  the  warriors  of  the  desert- 
tribe.  If  their  young  men  only  showed  themselves 
as  brave  as  they  had  been  at  Dophka  and  the  copper- 
mines,  by  God's  help  they  should  win  the  victory. 

Soon  after  midnight,  Joshua,  after  holding  council 
with  the  Elders,  bid  the  trumpets  sound  to  call  the 
fighting-men  together.  He  set  them  in  ranks  under 
the  starlit  sky,  appointed  a  leader  to  each  division, 
and  impressed  on  each  the  meaning  of  the  word  of 
command  he  was  to  obey. 

They  came  at  the  call,  half  perishing  with  thirst ; 
but  the  fresh  effort  to  which  their  Captain  exhorted 
them,  wonderfully  revived  their  fainting  energies, 


388  JOSHUA. 

as  well  as  the  hope  of  victory  and  a  precious  reward ; 
a  plot  of  land,  namely,  at  the  foot  of  the  Holy 
Mountain,  rich  in  wells  and  palms. 

Among  the  youths  came  Ephraim,  giving  life  to 
the  others  by  his  own  inexhaustible  vigor.  And 
now  when  the  Captain,  to  whom  God  had  already 
proved  that  He  thought  him  worthy  of  the  help 
which  his  name  promised,  addressed  the  men,  bid- 
ding them  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  Almighty,  it 
had  quite  a  different  effect  from  that  produced  by 
Aaron,  whose  admonishing  they  had  hearkened  to 
every  day  since  they  set  out. 

When  Joshua  had  ended,  a  jubilant  shout  went  up 
from  many  young  throats  though  parched  with 
thirst :  "  Hail  to  the  Captain  !  You  are  our  leader ; 
we  will  follow  none  other." 

Then  he  went  on  gravely  and  decisively  to  ex- 
plain to  them  that  he  was  prepared  to  show  to  the 
utmost  such  obedience  as  he  required  of  them.  He 
was  ready  to  march  as  the  last  man  in  the  lowest 
place,  if  it  should  be  Moses'  will. 

The  stars  were  still  bright  in  a  cloudless  sky  when 
a  cow-horn  called  the  Hebrews  to  set  forth  again. 
A  runner  had  already  been  sent  on  to  report  to 
Moses  of  their  evil  plight,  and  Ephraim  had  flown 
after  him  as  soon  as  he  was  free  to  do  so. 

But  throughout  the  morning's  march  Joshua  kept 
his  troops  in  strict  order,  as  though  an  onslaught 
was  to  be  expected.  Meanwhile  he  took  advantage 
of  every  minute  to  teach  the  fighting-men  and  their 
leaders  something  for  the  coming  struggle,  to  note 


JOSHUA.  389 

their  behavior,  and  close  up  their  ranks.  He  thus 
kept  them  on  the  alert  till  the  stars  began  to  pale. 

Few  indeed  were  the  murmurs  or  complaints 
among  the  fighting-men,  but  rebellion,  curses  and 
threats  were  all  the  more  rife  among  those  who 
bore  no  weapons.  Long  before  dawn  the  cry  was 
heard,  more  and  more  often,  of  :  "  Down  with  Moses ! 
We  will  stone  him  when  we  find  him !  "  And  indeed 
their  knees  were  failing  them  for  weariness,  and  the 
misery  of  their  wives  and  children  was  visible  to 
every  eye. 

Not  a  few,  indeed,  picked  a  piece  of  rock  from 
the  path,  with  a  wild  curse  and  flashing  eye ;  and  at 
last  the  fury  of  the  multitude  waxed  so  wild  and 
reckless  that  Hur  called  a  council  of  the  better  dis- 
posed among  the  Elders,  and  they  hastened  on  with 
the  fighting-men  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  to  protect 
Moses,  if  it  should  come  to  the  worst,  by  force  of 
arms  against  the  rebels.  Joshua  took  on  himself 
the  task  of  keeping  back  the  mutineers,  who  with 
curses  and  threats  strove  to  outstrip  the  rest.  When 
at  last  the  sun  rose  in  blinding  splendor  the  march 
was  no  more  than  a  struggle  onwards  of  enfeebled 
wretches.  Even  the  men-at-arms  tottered  forwards 
half-paralyzed.  Still,  when  the  rebels  tried  to  pass 
them  they  did  their  duty,  and  thrust  them  back 
with  spear  and  sword.  The  valley  along  which 
they  made  their  way  was  shut  in  on  both  sides  by 
steep  walls  of  gray  granite,  which  glittered  and 
sparkled  strangely  as  the  slanting  sunbeams  fell  on 
the  fragments  of  quartz  thickly  imbedded  in  the 


390  JOSHUA. 

primaeval  rock.  By  noon  it  would  be  scorchingly 
bot  again,  between  these  steep  cliffs  in  some  parts 
almost  closing  across  the  path;  as  yet,  however, 
they  lay  in  morning  shade.  And  the  beasts,  at  any 
rate,  found  refreshment,  for  among  the  rocks  in 
many  places  succulent  aromatic  plants  afforded 
them  pasture,  and  the  shepherd  boys,  taking  off  their 
loin  cloths,  filled  them  with  the  fodder  in  spite  of  their 
exhaustion,  to  offer  it  to  their  famishing  favorites. 

Thus  they  struggled  on  for  less  than  an  hour, 
when  suddenly  a  loud  shout  of  .joy  rang  out,  spread, 
ing  from  the  foremost  in  the  van  to  the  last  man  in 
the  long  train.  No  one  had  been  told  in  so  many 
words  to  what  it  owed  its  origin,  but  every  one 
knew  it  must  mean  that  they  had  come  upon  fresh 
water.  Then  Ephraim  came  flying  back  with  the 
glad  tidings,  and  what  a  miracle  it  worked  on  the 
exhausted  wanderers.  They  pulled  themselves  up 
as  though  they  had  already  emptied  the  brimming 
jar  at  a  deep  draught,  and  struggled  forward  at 
double  speed.  The  ranks  of  fighting-men  now  no 
longer  hindered  them,  but  hailed  those  of  their  tribe 
who  hastened  past  them  with  glad  greetings. 

Soon,  however,  the  hurrying  tide  stopped  of  its 
own  accord ;  for  at  the  spot  where  refreshment  was 
to  be  found  the  foremost  came  to  a  standstill  and 
behind  them  the  whole  multitude  were  checked 
more  effectually  than  by  moats  and  walls.  The  toil- 
ing pilgrims  had  become  a  vast,  disorderly  crowd, 
filling  the  whole  valley.  At  last  men  and  women 
turned  back,  carrying  well-filled  water-jars  in  their 


JOSHUA.  391 

hands  and  on  their  heads,  beckoning  joyfully  to 
their  friends  with  words  of  encouragement,  and 
making  their  way  through  the  throng  to  their  own 
families ;  but  the  precious  fluid  was  snatched  away 
from  many  before  it  could  be  conveyed  to  its  destina- 
tion. 

Joshua  and  his  troop  had  made  their  way  to  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  wells,  to .  keep  order 
among  the  thirsty  people.  However,  for  some  little 
time  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  patience,  while  the 
mighty  men  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  who,  with  Hur  at 
their  head,  had  been  the  first  to  reach  the  spot 
wielded  their  axes  and  strove  with  levers  hastily 
made  out  of  the  trunks  of  acacia-trees,  to  clear  away 
the  huge  boulders  which  strewed  the  path,  and  open 
up  the  way  to  the  spring  which  leapt  forth  from  sev- 
eral rifts  in  the  rock. 

At  first  it  had  flowed  among  a  chaos  of  moss- 
grown  blocks  of  granite;  but  presently  they  suc- 
ceeded in  directing  the  flow  of  the  precious  fluid, 
and  in  checking  the  waste  by  forming  a  sort  of  tank 
"where  even  the  cattle  could  drink.  Those  who  had 
filled  their  jars  had  caught  the  water  in  its  overflow 
from  the  hastily  contrived  dam.  Now  the  men 
whose  duty  it  was  to  watch  the  camp  kept  the 
throng  off,  so  as  to  give  the  water  time  to  settle  and 
clear  in  the  large,  new  basin  which  it  filled  with 
amazing  rapidity. 

In  sight  actually  of  the  blessing  for  which  they 
had  so  loudly  clamored  it  was  easy  now  to  have 
patience.  They  had  found  the  treasure ;  all  that 


392  JOSHUA. 

necessary  was  to  husband  it.  Not  a  word  of  dis- 
content or  complaint  or  reviling  was  now  to  be 
heard ;  many  indeed  looked  abashed  and  ashamed 
on  this  new  mercy  from  the  Most  High. 

Loud  and  jubilant  voices  were  heard  far  and  wide, 
shouting  and  talking ;  but  the  man  of  God,  who 
knew  every  rock  and  valley,  every  pasture  and  spring 
of  the  hills  Horeb  better  than  any  one,  and  who  had 
again  been  the  instrument  of  such  great  blessing  to 
his  people,  had  retired  into  a  neighboring  ravine,  as 
if  seeking  refuge  there  from  the  thanks  and  acclama- 
tions which  rose  louder  and  spread  further  every 
moment,  seeking  peace  and  silence  above  all  things 
for  his  deeply  agitated  spirit. 

Presently  hymns  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Lord  were 
to  be  heard  from  the  Hebrew  multitude,  who,  re- 
freshed and  revived,  and  overflowing  with  gratitude, 
were  pitching  their  camps  with  as  much  hope  and 
confidence  as  ever  they  had  known.  The  sound  of 
song,  of  happy  laughter,  jests  and  encouraging  cries 
formed  an  accompaniment  to  the  work  of  putting  up 
tents ;  and  the  encampment  was  rapidly  effected,  as 
rapidly  as  if  it  had  been  raised  from  the  earth  by  a 
magic  spell. 

The  eyes  of  the  young  men  flashed  with  martial 
ardor,  and  many  a  beast  shed  its  blood  to  make  a 
feast. 

Mothers,  after  doing  their  part  by  the  hearth  and 
in  the  tent,  led  their  little  ones  to  the  spring  to 
show  them  the  spot  where  Moses  with  his  staff  had 
pointed  out  the  spring  bubbling  through  the  rift  in 


JOSHUA.  393 

the  granite.  Many  men  likewise  stood  with  hands 
and  eyes  raised  to  heaven,  round  the  place  where 
Jehovah  had  shown  such  grace  to  His  people,  and 
among  them  were  not  a  few  of  those  murmurers 
who  had  picked  up  stones  wherewith  to  stone  the 
servant  of  God.  None  doubted  that  they  here  be- 
held the  result  of  a  great  miracle.  The  elders  im- 
pressed on  the  little  ones  that  they  should  never  for- 
get this  day,  and  this  water ;  and  an  old  grandmother 
was  wetting  her  grandchildren's  brows  at  the  brink 
of  the  pool  to  insure  divine  protection  for  them  for 
the  rest  of  their  lives. 

Hope,  thankfulness,  and  the  glow  of  trust  pre- 
vailed on  all  hands ;  even  the  fear  of  the  hostile 
Amalekites  had  vanished,  for  what  ill  could  come  to 
him  who  put  his  trust  in  the  mercy  of  so  omnipotent 
a  Protector. 

Joy  was  absent  from  one  tent  alone,  and  that  the 
finest  of  them — the  tent  of  the  head  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah.  Miriam  sat  among  her  women  after  distrib- 
uting the  midday  meal  in  silence  to  the  men  over- 
flowing with  grateful  enthusiasm ;  she  had  heard 
from  Milcah's  husband  Reuben  that  Moses  had  made 
Joshua  Captain  of  the  Hebrew  host  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  Elders.  Hur,  her  husband,  she  also  was 
told,  had  expressed  himself  ready  and  glad  to  re- 
nounce the  dignity  in  favor  of  the  son  of  Nun. 

The  prophetess  had  not  chosen  to  join  in  the  peo- 
ple's song  of  praise  ;  when  Milcah  and  her  Avomen 
had  besought  her  to  go  with  them  to  the  well,  she 
had  bidden  them  go  without  her.  She  was  now  ex- 


394  JOSHUA. 

pecting  her  husband  and  wished  to  meet  him  alone ; 
she  must  show  him  that  she  desired  his  forgiveness. 
But  he  did  not  come  ;  for,  after  the  council  of  the 
Elders  had  broken  up,  he  remained  with  the  new 
Captain  to  help  him  to  arrange  his  men,  and  this 
he  did  as  a  subordinate  obedient  to  Hosea,  who 
owed  his  call  and  his  name  of  Joshua  to  her. 

Her  waiting  women,  who  had  gathered  about  her, 
were  busy  spinning  ;  but  she  could  not  endure  this 
humble  toil,  and  while  she  sat  with  idle  hands  star- 
ing into  vacancy  the  hours  went  slowly  indeed. 
And  at  the  same  time  her  purpose  of  humbling  her- 
self before  her  husband  grew  feebler.  She  felt  im- 
pelled to  pray  for  strength  to  bo\v  before  the  man 
who  was  in  truth  her  master ;  but  the  prophetess, 
usually  so  apt  at  fervent  prayer,  could  not  find  the 
right  vein  of  devotion.  If  now  and  then  she  suc- 
ceeded in  collecting  her  thoughts  and  uplifting  her 
heart,  something  disturbed  her.  Every  fresh  report 
which  was  brought  to  her  from  the  camp,  added  to 
her  displeasure.  When  at  last  dusk  was  falling,  a 
messenger  came  desiring  her  to  have  no  care  for  the 
men's  evening  meal,  which  had  already  been  long 
prepared  and  waiting  ;  Hur,  with  his  son  and  grand- 
son were  about  to  accept  the  bidding  of  Nun  and 
Joshua  to  share  theirs. 

At  this  she  felt  it  hard  to  restrain  her  tears.  And 
if  she  had  suffered  them  to  flow  unchecked  they 
would  have  been  the  bitter  drops  of  wrath  and 
wounded  pride,  not  tears  of  distress  and  regretful 
longing. 


JOSHUA.  395 

During  the  hours  of  the  evening-watch,  the  war- 
riors all  marched  past  her,  and  from  rank  to  rank 
the  cry  re-echoed  of :  "  Hail  to  Joshua !  "  And 
those  who  repeated  the  watchword,  "  Steadfast  and 
Strong,"  did  so  in  honor  of  the  man  she  once  had 
loved, — but  now  hated,  as  she  confessed  to  herself. 
None  but  the  men  of  his  own  tribe  honored  her 
husband  with  a  special  cry.  Was  this  their  grati- 
tude for  the  generosity  which  had  led  him  to  abdi- 
cate the  post  to  which  he  alone  had  a  right,  in  favor 
of  a  younger  man  ?  It  cut  her  to  the  heart  to  see 
her  husband  so  deposed  ;  but  it  wounded  her  yet 
more  to  find  that  Hur  could  thus  abandon  his  lately 
wedded  wife. 

The  evening  meal  at  the  door  of  the  Ephraimites' 
tent  was  a  long  one.  A  little  before  midnight  she 
sent  her  serving-woman  to  bed  and  lay  down  herself 
to  wait  till  her  husband  should  return,  to  confess  to 
him  all  that  had  troubled  and  angered  her,  and  what 
she  most  desired. 

She  thought  it  would  be  easy  to  keep  awake  when 
she  was  in  such  anguish  of  mind ;  but  the  great 
fatigues  and  strain  of  the  last  few  days  and  nights 
had  told  upon  her,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  prayer  for 
humility  and  the  love  of  her  husband,  she  was  over- 
come by  sleep.  At  last,  at  the  hour  of  the  first 
morning  watch,  when  day  was  just  beginning  to 
break  she  was  startled  from  her  slumbers  by  the 
sound  of  the  trumpets  giving  warning  of  immediate 
danger. 

She  rose  quickly,  and  glancing  at  her  husband's 


396  JOSHUA. 

couch,  saw  that  it  was  empty  ;  still  it  had  been  used, 
and  on  the  sandy  soil — for  mats  were  spread  only  in 
the  living-rooms — she  saw  the  traces  of  Hur's  foot- 
steps by  her  own  bedside.  He  must  have  stood  close 
by  her,  and  perhaps  while  she  slept,  have  gazed 
tenderly  down  on  her  face. 

This  was  indeed  the  truth ;  her  old  slave-woman 
told  her  so  unasked.  For  after  she  had  roused  Hur 
she  had  seen  him  carefully  shading  the  lamp  while  he 
looked  on  Miriam's  face,  and  bent  over  her  for  some 
minutes,  as  though  he  would  have  kissed  her.  This 
was  good  hearing,  aud  rejoiced  the  lonely  wife  so 
greatly  that  she  forgot  her  usual  calm  dignity  and 
pressed  her  lips  to  the  wrinkled  brow  of  the  little, 
bent  old  woman,  who  had  done  service  of  yore 
to  her  parents.  Then  she  hastily  bid  her  maids  to 
braid  her  hair  and  dress  her  in  a  holiday  robe  of 
light  blue  which  Hur  had  given  her,  and  hastened 
forth  to  take  leave  of  him. 

Meanwhile  the  troops  had  formed  in  order,  the 
tents  were  being  struck,  and  Miriam  sought  her  hus- 
band for  a  long  time  in  vain.  At  last  she  found  him  ; 
but  he  was  deeply  engaged  in  talk  with  Joshua,  and 
as  she  caught  sight  of  the  Captain,  the  prophetess 
shuddered  with  a  sudden  chill,  nor  could  she  per- 
suade herself  to  address  the  men. 


JOSHUA.  397 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  HARD  battle  must  be  fought,  for,  as  the  spies  re- 
ported, the  Amalekites  had  been  joined  by  other 
desert-tribes.  Nevertheless,  the  Israelites  were  still 
almost  twice  their  number ;  but  how  far  inferior  in 
warlike  skill  were  Joshua's  troops  to  their  opponents, 
inured  to  battle  and  ambush.  The  foe  came  up  from 
the  South,  from  the  oasis  at  the  foot  of  the  Sacred 
Mountain,  which  was  the  primeval  home  of  their 
race,  their  foster  mother,  their  beloved,  their  all,  and 
to  them  well  worth  shedding  their  blood  to  the  last 
drop  for. 

Joshua,  now  the  Captain  recognized  by  Moses  and 
all  the  people  as  leader  of  the  Hebrew  fighting-men, 
led  his  newly  formed  army  to  the  widest  portion  of 
the  valley,  as  this  allowed  him  to  take  the  utmost 
advantage  of  their  superior  numbers.  The  camp, 
was  removed  by  his  orders  and  pitched  in  a  narrower 
place  at  the  northern  end  of  the  valley  of  Rephidim, 
in  which  the  struggle  must  be  fought  out,  as  this 
made  it  easier  to  defend  the  tents.  He  left  the  com- 
mand of  the  camp  and  of  the  men  told  off  to  protect 
it  to  the  prudent  care  of  his  father. 

He  had  wished  to  leave  Moses  and  all  the  Elders 
of  the  tribes  safe  within  the  precincts  of  the  camp ; 


398  JOSHUA. 

but  their  great  leader  had  gone  forward  with  Hur 
and  Aaron,  and  climbed  a  peak  of  granite  whence 
they  could  look  down  upon  the  fight.  Thus  the 
fighting  men  could  see  Moses  and  his  two  compan- 
ions on  the  cliff  which  commanded  the  top  of  the 
valley,  and  feel  assured  that  the  servant  of  the  Lord 
would  not  cease  to  beseech  Him  to  spare  them  and 
give  them  the  victory.  But  every  simple  man  in 
that  host,  and  every  woman  and  old  man  in  the  camp, 
in  that  hour  of  peril  turned  to  the  God  of  their 
fathers  ;  and  the  rallying  cry  chosen  by  Joshua,  "  Je- 
hovah our  Eefuge,"  bound  the  hearts  of  the  warriors 
to  the  Ruler  of  the  battle,  and  reminded  the  most 
faint-hearted  and  unskilled  among  the  fighting  men 
that,  he  could  not  take  a  step  nor  deal  a  blow,  but 
the  Lord  would  mark  it. 

The  trumpets  and  cow-horns  of  the  Hebrew  host 
rang  out  louder  and  louder,  for  the  Amalekites  were 
pouring  down  on  the  level  ground  which  was  to  be 
the  field  of  battle. 

It  was  a  strange  scene  for  such  a  struggle,  such  as 
no  experienced  Captain  would  ever  willingly  have 
chosen,  for  it  was  shut  in  on  both  sides  by  steep  gray 
cliffs  of  granite  towering  up  to  heaven.  If  the  foe 
should  win,  the  camp  too  must  be  lost,  and  any  bene- 
fit to  be  derived  from  knowledge  of  warfare  must 
here  be  displayed  within  the  smallest  conceivable 
space.  To  circumvent  the  enemy  or  surprise  him  in 
flank  seemed  quite  impossible ;  but  even  the  rocks 
were  turned  to  account  by  the  leader,  for  wherever 
it  was  possible,  he  had  made  his  best  slingers  and 


JOSHUA.  399 

archers  climb  up  them  to  no  great  height,  and  in 
structed  them  to  watch  for  a  sign  at  which  they 
should  mingle  in  the  fight. 

At  the  first  glance  Joshua  perceived  that  he  had 
not  overrated  the  foe,  for  those  who  began  the  battle 
were  bearded  men,  with  clearly  cut,  manly  faces,  out 
of  which  their  black  eyes  glowed  at  the  enemy  with 
wild  and  blood  thirsty  hatred.  And  every  man,  like 
their  leader  himself,  a  gray-haired  man  of  many 
scars,  was  spare  and  supple  of  limb.  They  wielded 
the  curved  sabre,  the  javelin  of  heavy  sharpened 
wood,  and  the  lance  ornamented  with  a  tuft  of 
earners  hair,  like  practised  warriors,  and  the  war- 
cry  rang  out  loud,  cruel  and  death-defying  from  the 
deep  breasts  of  these  men,  who  felt  that  they  must 
die  or  see  their  dearest  possession  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 

At  the  first  onslaught  Joshua  led  forward  the 
men  whom  he  had  armed  with  the  large  Egyptian 
shields  and  lances,  and  these,  fired  by  their  valiant 
leader,  made  a  good  stand,  particularly  as  the  nar- 
row defile  into  the  field  of  battle  hindered  their 
wild  opponents  from  taking  full  advantage  of  their 
superior  skill.  But  when  the  men  on  foot  presently 
withdrew,  and  a  troop  of  warriors  on  dromedaries 
rushed  down  on  the  Hebrews,  many  of  them  were 
scared  at  the  strange  aspect  of  these  creatures, 
known  to  them  only  by  description.  They  cast  away 
their  shields  and  fled  with  loud  outcries ;  and  wher- 
ever a  gap  was  made,  the  riders  drove  in  their 
dromedaries  and  thrust  down  at  the  foe  with  their 


40O  JOSHUA. 

long  sharp  javelins.  At  this  the  herdsmen,  unused 
to  such  an  attack,  thought  only  of  saving  themselves, 
and  many  turned  to  fly,  for  sudden  terror  seized 
them  as  they  saw  the  flaming  eyes  and  heard  the 
shrill,  malignant  cry  of  the  enraged  Amalekite 
women,  who  had  rushed  into  the  fight  to  add  fuel  to 
their  husbands'  courage  and  terrify  the  enemy.  They 
held  on  to  the  humped  brutes  by  leathern  straps 
hanging  down  from  the  saddle,  which  they  clutched 
in  their  left  hands,  and  allowed  themselves  to  be 
dragged  whithersoever  the  riders  went.  Hatred 
seemed  to  have  steeled  each  female  heart  against 
fear  of  death,  compassion  and  womanly  feeling ;  and 
the  hideous  cry  of  these  Mega3ras  broke  the  spirit 
of  many  a  brave  Hebrew. 

But  no  sooner  did  their  Captain  see  them  give 
way  than  he  took  advantage  of  the  disorder,  and 
bid  them  retire  and  allow  the  savage  foe  to  enter 
the  valley ;  for  he  said  to  himself  that  the  superior 
number  of  his  men  could  be  turned  to  better  account 
as  soon  as  they  had  the  opportunity  of  pressing  on 
the  foe  from  both  flanks  as  well  as  in  front,  and 
when  the  slingers  and  archers  could  take  their  part 
in  the  fight. 

Ephraim  and  the  bravest  of  his  comrades,  who 
remained  with  him  as  runners,  were  now  sent  back 
to  the  northern  end  of  the  valley  to  tell  the  leaders 
of  the  ranks  posted  there  what  Joshua  proposed,  and 
to  order  them  to  advance.  The  swift-footed  shepherd 
lads  vanished  as  nimbly  as  gazelles ;  and  it  soon  was 
seen  that  their  Captain  had  hit  on  the  right  plan ; 


JOSHUA.  401 

for  no  sooner  had  the  Amalekites  reached  the  middle 
of  the  valley  than  the  Hebrews  fell  upon  them  from 
all  sides ;  several  who  were  bravely  rushing  forward 
fell  in  the  sand  as  they  brandished  the  sword  or 
spear,  hit  by  a  round  pebble  or  a  sharp  arrow,  from 
sling  or  bow. 

Moses,  meanwhile,  kept  his  place  on  the  cliff  over- 
looking the  battle-field  with  Aaron  and  Hur.  From 
thence  he  watched  the  fight  in  which  he,  who  had 
grown  gray  in  peaceful  pursuits,  could  take  part 
only  wTith  heart  and  soul.  Not  a  movement,  not  a 
SAVord  raised  or  dropped  among  friends  or  foes, 
escaped  his  keen  eye  ;  but  when  the  fray  had  fairly 
begun,  and  the  Captain,  with  wise  forethought,  had 
opened  a  way  for  the  enemy  into  the  midst  of  his 
own  fighting  men,  Hur  exclaimed  to  the  gray-haired 
man  of  God  :  "  My  wife,  your  sister's  lofty  spirit  has 
indeed  discerned  the  truth.  The  son  of  Nun  belies 
the  call  of  the  Most  High.  What  is  this  ?  We  are 
the  superior  force  and  yet  the  enemy  makes  his  way 
unhindered  into  the  very  heart  of  our  host.  As  the 
waters  of  the  Ked  Sea  stood  aside  at  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  so  do  our  ranks, — and,  as  it  would  seem, 
by  their  leader's  bidding." 

"  Only  to  swallow  up  Amalek  as  the  waves  of 
the  sea  swallowed  up  the  Egyptians,"  was  Moses' 
reply. 

Then  he  lifted   up  his  hands  to   Heaven   and 
cried : 

"  Look  down,  Jehovah,  on  Thy  people,  who  are 
in  fresh  straits.    Strengthen  the  arm  and  give  sight 
26 


402  JOSHUA. 

to  the  eye  of  him  whom  Thou  hast  chosen  to  be 
Thy  Sword.  Lend  him  the  succor  Thou  didst  prom- 
ise him  when  Thou  didst  name  him  Joshua  instead 
of  Hosea !  And  if  Thou  dost  no  more  suffer  him  to 
prove  himself  steadfast  and  strong  as  beseems  the 
Captain  of  Thy  choice,  then  do  Thou  with  the 
Hosts  of  Heaven,  set  Thyself  at  the  head  of  Thy 
people  that  they  may  put  their  enemies  to  flight !  " 

Thus  the  man  of  God  besought  the  Lord  with 
hands  lifted  on  high,  and  ceased  not  to  entreat 
Jehovah  and  cry  to  Him  whose  mighty  will  ruled 
His  people ;  and  presently  Aaron  whispered  to  him 
that  the  foe  was  hard  beset,  and  that  the  courage  of 
the  Israelites  was  proving  itself  nobly.  Joshua  was 
now  here  and  now  there,  and  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy  were  visibly  thinner,  while  those  of  the 
Hebrews  seemed  to  multiply.  And  Hur  confirmed 
this  report,  and  added  that  the  untiring  zeal  and 
heroic  contempt  of  death  of  the  Son  of  Nun  were 
beyond  all  praise.  He  had,  at  that  moment,  felled 
one  of  the  wildest  of  the  Amalekites  with  his  battle- 
axe. 

At  this  Moses  breathed  more  freely  ;  his  arms 
fell  by  his  side  and  he  eagerly  watched  the  course 
of  the  fight  which  was  surging  and  raging,  tossing 
and  roaring  at  his  feet. 

The  sun  had  by  this  time  reached  its  noon  and 
shone  down  on  the  combatants  with  scorching  fires. 
The  gray  granite  walls  of  the  valley  glowed  with 
intenser  heat  every  hour,  and  the  sweat  had  long 
since  stood  on  the  brows  of  the  three  men  on  the 


JOSHUA.  403 

rock.  What,  then,  must  the  heat  be  below,  adding 
to  the  labor  of  struggling  and  wrestling!  How 
sorely  must  the  wounds  ache  of  the  bleeding  wretches 
lying  there  in  the  sand. 

Moses  felt  it  all  as  though  he  himself  were  suffer- 
ing it,  for  his  immovably  steadfast  soul  was  rich  in 
compassion,  and  he  bore  this  people,  who  were  of 
his  own  flesh  and  blood,  and  for  whom  he  lived  and 
labored,  in  his  heart  as  a  father  does  his  child.  The 
wounds  inflicted  on  his  brethren  pained  him;  yet 
his  heart  beat  high  with  proud  gladness  as  he  beheld 
how  those  whose  cowardly  subjection  had  but  a 
short  while  since  so  greatly  fired  his  wrath,  had 
learned  the  arts  of  attack  and  defence,  and  how  one 
band  of  young  Hebrews  after  another  rushed  on  the 
enemy  with  loud  cries  of  "  Jehovah  our  Refuge  ! " 

In  Joshua's  proud,  heroic  form  he  saw  the  posterity 
of  Israel  as  he  dreamed  and  hoped  it  might  be,  and 
he  now  no  longer  doubted  that  the  Lord  had  indeed 
called  Joshua  to  be  the  Captain  of  his  people. 
Rarely  had  his  large  commanding  look  flashed  more 
brightly  than  at  this  moment. 

But  what  was  that  ? 

A  cry  of  horror  broke  from  Aaron's  lips,  and  Hur 
started  to  his  feet  and  gazed  anxiously  towards  the 
north ;  for,  from  the  spot  where  the  people's  tents 
were  pitched,  came  a  fresh  battle-cry,  mingling  with 
loud  and  lamentable  shrieks,  not,  as  it  seemed,  from 
the  men  alone,  but  from  women  and  children.  The 
enemy  had  surprised  the  camp. 

A  troop  of  the  Amalekites  had  been  detached  from 


404  JOSHUA. 

the  main  body,  long  before  the  battle  had  begun, 
and  had  made  their  way  round  by  a  mountain  defile, 
known  only  to  themselves. 

At  this  Hur  thought  of  his  young  wife,  and  a 
vision  rose  before  Aaron's  mind  of  Elisheba  his  faith- 
ful spouse,  of  his  children  and  grand-children  ;  and 
both  with  beseeching  eyes  dumbly  entreated  Moses 
to  allow  them  to  fly  to  the  rescue  of  those  dearest  to 
them ;  but  the  austere  chief  refused,  and  kept  them 
with  him. 

Then  again  standing  up,  he  raised  his  heart  and 
hand  once  more  to  Heaven.  With  fervent  prayer 
he  cried  to  the  Lord,  and  ceased  not  his  entreaties  ; 
as  the  minutes  went  on  the  more  ardent  was  his  be- 
seeching, for  all  that  the  Hebrew  host  had  won  they 
now  seemed  to  be  losing.  Every  glance  at  the 
battle-field,  everything  his  companion  told  him, 
while,  with  spirit  uplifted  to  the  Lord  his  God,  he 
stood  blind  and  deaf  to  the  scene  below,  added  to 
the  burthen  of  his  woes. 

Joshua  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
party  of  men  and  withdrawn  from  the  fray,  and 
with  him  were  Bezaleel,  Hurs  grandson,  Aholiab, 
his  favorite  comrade,  young  Ephraim,  and  Reuben, 
Milcah's  husband.  It  was  with  a  heart  full  of  bless- 
ings that  Hur  marked  them  retire,  for  they  could 
only  have  quitted  the  fight  in  order  to  succor  the 
camp.  He  listened  with  eager  ears  to  the  sounds 
from  the  north,  as  though  he  divined  how  deeply  he 
was  interested  in  the  broken  cries  and  lamentations 
which  came  up  on  the  breeze  from  the  tents. 


JOSHUA.  405 

Old  Nun  had  taken  up  arms  against  the  troop  of 
Amalekites  who  had  fallen  on  the  camp,  and  had 
fought  valiantly ;  but  when  he  perceived  that  the 
men  whom  Joshua  had  left  under  his  command 
could  no  longer  stand  against  the  onslaught  of  the 
foe,  he  sent  to  crave  reinforcement  of  the  Captain. 
Joshua  forthwith  entrusted  the  further  conduct  of 
the  battle  to  Nahshon,  the  second  chief  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  to  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  courage  and  forethought, 
and  hastened  with  other  chosen  men  to  help  his 
father. 

He  had  not  lost  a  moment,  and  yet  the  fight  was 
already  decided  by  the  time  he  reached  the  scene  of 
the  struggle  ;  for,  as  he  approached  the  camp  the 
Amalekites  had  broken  through  his  father's  line  of 
defence,  and  cut  him  off  from  the  tents  on  which 
they  were  rushing. 

First,  then,  Joshua  rescued  the  brave  old  man  from 
the  foe,  and  the  next  he  had  to  drive  the  sons  of  the 
desert  away  from  the  camp ;  this  gave  rise  to  a  sharp 
struggle,  man  to  man,  and  hand  to  hand ;  and  he 
himself  could  be  in  but  one  spot  at  a  time,  and  must 
needs  leave  it  to  the  younger  fighting  men  to  act  for 
themselves,  each  in  his  own  place. 

Here  too  he  raised  the  cry :  "  Jehovah  our  Ref- 
uge !  "  and  rushed  shouting  these  words,  into  Hur's 
tent,  which  was  the  first  to  be  seized  by  the  enemy, 
and  round  which  the  battle  was  fiercest.  Many 
corpses  already  strewed  the  ground  at  the  entrance, 
and  furious  Amalekites  were  struggling  with  a  party 


406  JOSHUA. 

of  Hebrews,  while  from  within  came  wild  screams 
of  terror. 

He  sprang  across  the  threshold  with  winged  feet, 
and  beheld  a  spectacle  which  filled  even  the  unflinch- 
ing man  with  horror,  for  on  the  left  of  the  large 
room  it  formed,  Hebrews  and  Amalekites  were  roll- 
ing on  the  bloodstained  mats  in  a  furious  struggle, 
while  on  the  right  he  saw  Miriam  and  her  waiting- 
women,  whose  hands  the  men  of  the  desert  had  tied. 

The  men  had  meant  to  carry  them  off  as  precious 
plunder,  but  an  Amalekite  woman,  frenzied  with 
hatred,  revenge  and  jealousy,  and  eager  to  sacrifice 
the  strange  women  to  the  flames,  was  blowing  the 
brands  on  the  hearth  and,  by  waving  the  veil  she 
had  snatched  from  Miriam's  head,  had  fanned  them 
to  a  considerable  blaze. 

A  fearful  tumult  filled  the  confined  space  as 
Joshua  rushed  into  the  tent ;  on  one  side  the  yells 
of  the  struggling  men,  while  on  the  other  the  Proph- 
etess's women  set  up  a  succession  of  loud  shrieks 
for  rescue  and  deliverance  as  soon  as  they  saw  him 
coming.  Their  mistress,  as  pale  as  death,  knelt  at 
the  feet  of  the  Amalekite  chief  whose  wife  was 
threatening  them  with  death  by  fire.  She  stared  at 
their  deliverer  as  though  a  spirit  had  started  out  of 
the  earth  before  her  eyes,  and  the  scenes  which  fol- 
lowed stamped  themselves  on  Miriam's  memory  as 
a  series  of  horrible  and  disconnected,  but  never-to- 
be-forgotten  images. 

First  the  Amalekite  chief  who  had  bound  her, 
was  a  strange  but  heroic  figure.  With  his  swarthy 


JOSHUA.  407 

skin  and  high  hooked  nose  he  resembled  an  eagle  of 
his  native  mountains  ;  his  beard  was  black,  his  eyes 
were  flame.  But  ere  long  he  was  to  measure  his 
strength  with  another — with  the  man  who  once  had 
been  dear  to  her  heart.  She  had  often  compared 
him  with  a  lion,  but  never  had  he  seemed  more  like 
the  king  of  the  desert. 

They  were  both  mighty  men  and  strong.  No 
one  could  have  predicted  which  of  them  must  yield 
to  the  other,  which  must  win  the  victory ;  and  it 
was  her  fate  to  witness  the  struggle,  for  already  the 
fiery  son  of  the  desert  had  shouted  his  war-cry  and 
rushed  upon  the  more  cautious  Hebrew. 

That  no  man  may  live  if  his  heart  stops  beating 
for  so  much  as  a  minute  every  child  must  know ; 
and  yet  Miriam  was  certain  that  hers  had  stood 
still,  rigid  and  turned  to  stone,  when  the  Lion  rushed 
into  peril  to  destroy  the  Eagle,  and  the  Amalekite's 
bright  knife  flashed  forth,  and  she  saw  the  blood 
flowing  from  her  champion's  shoulder. 

But  then  her  heart  began  to  beat  again,  nay  and 
faster  than  ever  before,  for  suddenly  the  lion-hearted 
warrior  whom  she  had  so  lately  hated  with  such 
bitter  hatred  was  once  more,  as  by  a  miracle,  the 
friend  of  her  childhood  again.  Love  had  waked  up 
with  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  cymbals,  and 
marched  in  triumph  into  her  heart,  lately  so  deso- 
late and  forlorn.  All  that  had  held  them  apart  was 
suddenly  forgotten  and  buried,  and  never  were  more 
pressing  appeals  addressed  to  the  Most  High  than 
in  the  brief  prayer  which  went  up  from  her  agonized 


408  JOSHUA. 

soul.  But  as  her  pleading  was  fervent,  so  was  it 
immediately  answered,  for  the  Eagle  was  down  and 
his  soaring  ended  for  ever,  under  the  superior 
strength  of  the  Lion. 

All  was  dark  for  a  while  before  Miriam's  eyes, 
and  it  was  as  in  a  dream  that  she  felt  the  cords 
which  bound  her  wrists  and  ankles  cut  by  Ephraim. 
Then  she  soon  recovered  consciousness  and  beheld, 
at  her  feet,  the  bleeding  corpse  of  the  vanquished 
chief,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  tent  many  bodies 
and  wounded  men,  among  them  several  of  her  hus- 
band's slaves.  By  them,  stalwart  and  victorious, 
stood  the  brave  fighting  men  of  her  nation,  with  the 
noble  and  reverend  figure  of  Nun,  and  Joshua, 
whose  wounds  his  father  was  binding  up. 

This  task,  she  felt,  should  have  been  hers  and  hers 
alone ;  and  deep  grief  and  burning  shame  came  over 
her  as  she  remembered  how  greatly  she  had  sinned 
against  this  man.  She  knew  not  how  she  could  re- 
pay him,  on  whom  she  had  brought  such  deep  sor- 
row, all  she  owed  him.  Her  whole  heart  longed  to 
hear  some  word  of  forgiveness  from  his  lips,  and 
she  went  towards  him  on  her  knees  across  the  blood- 
stained ground  ;  but  the  Prophetess's  eloquent  lips 
were  dumb  ;  she  could  not  find  the  right  word,  till 
suddenly  the  imploring  cry  rose  loud  from  her  op- 
pressed breast : 

"  Joshua,  O  Joshua !  I  have  sinned  against  you 
indeed,  and  will  repent  of  it  all  my  life  long,  but  do 
not  scorn  my  thanks.  Do  not  repel  me  from  you, 
— and  if  you  can,  forgive  me !  " 


JOSHUA.  409 

She  could  not  have  uttered  another  word;  but 
then — and  this  again  she  never  forgot — her  eyes  had 
overflowed  with  scalding  tears,  and  he  had  raised 
her  from  the  ground  with  irresistible  strength,  and 
yet  with  a  hand  as  gentle  as  a  mother's  when  her 
child  has  had  a  fall,  and  from  his  lips  came  mild 
and  friendly  words,  promising  full  forgiveness.  The 
mere  pressure  of  his  hand  was  enough  to  show  her 
that  he  was  no  longer  wroth  with  her,  as  she  heard 
his  assurance  that  the  name  of  Joshua  could  not  fall 
more  sweetly  on  his  ear  from  any  lips  than  from 
hers. 

Then,  with  a  cry  "  Jehovah  our  Refuge ! "  he 
turned  from  her,  but  his  clear  shout,  and  the  enthu- 
siastic battle-cry  of  his  followers  rang  in  her  ears 
long  after. 

At  last  all  was  still  once  more,  and  she  only  knew 
that  never  before  nor  after  had  she  wept  so  passion- 
ately or  so  bitterly  as  in  that  hour.  Moreover  she 
had  made  two  solemn  vows  to  the  God  who  had 
called  her  to  be  his  handmaid.  But  the  two  men  whom 
they  most  concerned,  were  meanwhile  in  the  thick  of 
the  tumult  of  battle. 

One  had  led  his  men  back  from  the  rescued  camp 
to  meet  the  foe  once  more  ;  the  other,  by  the  side  of 
the  leader  of  the  multitude,  was  watching  the  vary- 
ing movements  of  the  still  furious  fight. 

Joshua  found  his  followers  hardly  pressed.  In 
one  place  they  were  giving  way,  in  another  they 
were  making  but  a  half-hearted  stand  against  the  sons 
of  the  desert ;  Hur  too  was  looking  with  increasing  and 


410  JOSHUA. 

double  anxiety  on  the  course  of  the  battle,  for  in  the 
camp  he  pictured  his  wife  and  father  in  peril,  and 
below  him  his  son.  His  fatherly  heart  quaked  when 
he  beheld  Uri  giving  way,  but  when  he  made  a  fresh 
onslaught,  and  by  a  well  directed  attack  broke  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy,  he  held  up  his  head  again,  and 
longed  to  be  able  to  shout  a  word  of  praise  that  he 
could  hear.  But  what  ear  could  be  sharp  enough  to 
hear  a  single  voice  above  the  clatter  of  weapons  and 
mingled  battle  cries,  the  shrieking  of  the  women  and 
the  wailing  of  the  wounded,  the  surly  grunting  of  the 
camels,  the  blare  of  trumpets  and  horns  ? 

And  now  the  foremost  of  the  Amalekites  had 
forced  their  way,  like  the  thin  edge  of  a  wedge,  into 
the  furthest  ranks  of  the  Hebrews.  If  they  should 
succeed  in  breaking  open  a  gap  for  those  behind  them, 
and  effect  a  junction  with  those  who  had  attacked 
the  camp,  the  battle  was  lost  and  the  fate  of  the 
Israelites  was  sealed  ;  for  still  another  horde  of 
Amalekites  were  in  reserve  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
valley,  who  had  not  yet  had  any  fighting,  and  who 
seemed  to  be  intended  to  protect  the  oasis  from  the 
foe  in  the  last  extremity. 

But  here  was  a  fresh  surprise. 

The  men  of  the  desert  had  made  their  way  so 
far  forward,  that  the  slingers  and  bowmen  could 
scarcely  hit  one  of  them,  and  if  these  were  not  to 
remain  idle  they  must  be  ordered  down  to  the  scene 
of  the  struggle. 

Hur  might  have  called  in  vain  to  Uri  to  remember 
these  men  and  give  them  some  fresh  occupation,  but 


JOSHUA.  41 1 

suddenly  a  youth  made  his  appearance,  coming  from 
the  end  of  the  encampment,  a  lad  as  nimble  as  a 
mountain-goat,  scrambling  and  leaping  from  crag  to 
crag.  As  soon  as  he  reached  the  first  man  he  spoke 
to  him.  gave  a  signal  to  those  beyond,  who  again 
repeated  it  to  the  next,  and  finally  they  all  descended 
into  the  valley  and  climbed  the  western  cliff,  as  far 
as  a  spot  where  some  men  were  standing ;  there  they 
vanished  as  utterly  as  though  the  rocks  had  swal- 
lowed them.  The  youth  who  had  led  the  slingers 
and  bowmen  was  Ephraim.  A  patch  of  shadow  on 
the  face  of  the  rock,  was,  no  doubt,  the  opening  into 
a  ravine,  and  through  this  the  men  were  to  be  led 
whom  Joshua  had  sent  for  to  succor  the  camp.  So 
thought  Hur,  and  not  he  alone,  but  Aaron  likewise  ; 
and  again  Hur  began  to  doubt  whether  the  Lord 
were  indeed  with  Joshua,  for  the  men  who  were  to 
be  of  use  at  the  tents  were  lost  to  the  troops  which 
it  was  now  the  duty  of  his  son  and  of  his  comrade 
Nahshon  to  command. 

The  fight  round  the  camp  had  already  lasted  above 
an  hourt  and  Moses  had  not  ceased  to  beseech  the 
Lord  with  hands  uplifted  to  Heaven,  when  the 
Amalekites  made  a  great  rush  forward.  At  this  the 
leader  of  his  people  collected  all  his  strength  for  a 
new  appeal  to  the  Almighty  ;  but  he  was  much  ex- 
hausted, his  knees  shook,  and  his  weary  arms  fell 
by  his  sides.  Still  his  spirit  had  all  its  fire,  and  his 
heart  all  its  fervent  desire  not  to  cease  from  entreat- 
ing Him  who  is  the  Ruler  of  battles.  The  leader  of 
his  people  must  not  be  idle  during  the  struggle,  and. 


412  JOSHUA. 

his  weapon  was  prayer.  Like  a  child  which  will  not 
cease  from  beseeching  its  mother  till  she  has  granted 
him  that  which  it  unselfishly  demands  for  its  breth- 
ren, so  Moses  importuned  the  Almighty  who  had 
hitherto  shown  himself  to  be  a  Father  to  him  and  the 
Hebrew  folk,  saving  them  as  by  a  miracle  from  the 
greatest  perils. 

But  his  frame  was  faint,  so  he  called  on  his  com- 
panions and  they  pushed  forward  a  block  of  stone 
on  which  he  might  sit,  while  he  besieged  the  Heart 
of  the  Lord  with  more  and  yet  more  prayers.  There 
he  sat ;  and  when  his  weary  limbs  refused  their 
service,  his  soul  still  answered  to  his  call,  and  went 
up  as  in  a  flame  to  the  Ruler  of  the  destinies  of  man. 
But  his  arms  grew  more  and  more  feeble,  and  dropped 
at  last  as  if  weighed  down  by  heavy  masses  of  lead, 
although  it  had  for  years  been  his  habit  to  raise 
them  heavenwards  when  he  cried  fervently  to  God 
on  High. 

This  his  comrades  knew,  and  they  thought  they  had 
perceived  that  as  often  as  their  great  chiefs  hands 
sank,  the  sons  of  Amalek  gained  some  new  advan- 
tage. Then  they  diligently  held  up  his  arms,  the  one 
on  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  the  left ;  and 
although  the  mighty  man  could  no  longer  appeal  to 
Heaven  in  intelligible  words,  and  his  giant's  frame 
swayed  to  and  fro,  and  more  than  once  he  felt  as 
though  the  stone  on  which  he  sat,  the  valley  below 
him,  and  the  whole  world  were  in  movement,  still 
his  eyes  and  hands  were  raised  on  high.  Not  for  an 
instant  did  he  cease  calling  on  the  Most  High,  till, 


JOSHUA.  413 

on  a  sudden,  from  the  camp,  there  came  up  glad 
shouts  of  victory,  which  echoed  loudly  from  the 
rocky  walls  of  the  gorge.  Joshua  had  returned  to 
the  field  of  battle,  and  at  the  head  of  his  troops 
rushed  on  the  enemy  with  irresistible  fury. 

From  this  moment  the  struggle  assumed  a  new 
aspect.  The  decision,  indeed,  was  still  doubtful. 
Moses,  supported  on  either  side,  dared  not  cease  to 
uplift  his  heart  and  his  hands,  but  at  last,  at  last,  the 
final  struggle  was  over.  The  ranks  of  the  A  male- 
kites  gave  way,  and  presently  they  fled,  broken  and 
panic-stricken,  to  the  southern  pass  by  which  they 
had  entered  the  valley.  And  even  from  thence  the 
cry  came  up  from  a  thousand  throats,  "  Jehovah 
our  Eefuge  !  "  Victory !  Victory  !  " 

At  this  the  man  of  God  let  his  arms  fall  from  the 
supporting  shoulders  of  his  companions,  and  stood 
up,  tall  and  strong,  crying  with  renewed  and  won- 
derfully revived  energy  :  "  I  thank  Thee,  my  God 
and  Lord !  Jehovah  our  Refuge  !  Thy  people  are 
saved  1 "  But  then  his  sight  grew  dark  from  ex- 
haustion. 

However,  he  presently  looked  up  again,  and  saw 
Ephraim,  pressing  close  on  the  Amalekites,  who  had 
taken  their  stand  at  the  southern  end  with  his  sling- 
ers  and  bowmen,  while  Joshua  drove  the  main  body 
of  the  desert-tribes  backwards  towards  their  van- 
quished brethren. 

The  Captain  had  heard  from  a  deserter,  of  a  pass 
by  which  good  climbers  could  reach  a  defile  leading 
out  on  the  southern  end  of  the  battle-field,  and 


4H  JOSHUA. 

Ephraim,  in  obedience  to  his  command,  had  led  the 
archers  and  slingers  along  this  difficult  path,  and 
fallen  on  the  rear  of  the  last  band  of  the  enemy  who 
could  still  have  made  any  stand.  Thus  attacked 
from  both  sides,  their  ranks  thinned  and  their  cour- 
age quelled,  the  Sons  of  Amalek  gave  up  the  strug- 
gle ;  and  now  it  was  seen  how  these  children  of  the 
desert  and  dwellers  among  the  highlands  could  use 
their  legs,  for  at  a  sign  from  their  leader  they  first 
killed  their  dromedaries,  and  then  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions like  feathers  scattered  by  the  wind.  They 
climbed  steep  cliffs  which  looked  inaccessible  to  man, 
like  the  nimblest  lizards,  on  their  hands  and  feet ; 
but  a  great  many  escaped  by  the  ravine  which  the 
deserter  had  betrayed  to  Joshua. 


JOSHUA.  415 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  larger  half  of  the  Amalekites  lay  dead  or 
wounded  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  Hebrew  Cap- 
tain knew  that  the  other  desert-tribes  who  had  joined 
them  had,  as  was  their  custom,  abandoned  their 
slain,  and  would  retire  to  their  own  haunts.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  not  impossible  that  despair  might 
give  the  fugitives  courage  not  to  allow  their  oasis  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Hebrews  without  a  final 
contest. 

However,  Joshua's  men  were  too  much  exhausted 
for  it  to  be  possible  to  lead  them  any  further  at  this 
moment.  He  himself  had  lost  some  blood  from 
several  slight  wounds,  and  the  great  exertions  of  the 
last  few  days  had  made  their  mark  even  on  his  iron 
frame. 

Besides  this,  the  sun,  which  had  not  long  risen 
when  the  strife  began,  was  already  sinking  to  rest, 
and  if  they  were  to  force  their  way  through  to  the 
oasis  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  do  battle  in  the 
dark.  What  he  and,  even  more,  his  brave  followers, 
most  needed  was  rest  till  the  next  day's  dawn. 

All  about  him  he  saw  none  but  glad  faces,  beam- 
ing with  proud  self-reliance,  and  when  he  dismissed 
the  ranks  to  retire  to  the  camp  and  rejoice  with. 


416  JOSHUA. 

those  dear  to  them  over  the  victory,  the  troops, 
which  had  marched  past  wearily  and  slowly,  broke 
out  in  shouts  of  joy,  as  clear  and  glad  as  though 
they  had  quite  forgotten  the  fatigues  which  had 
bowed  their  heads  and  weighted  their  feet. 

"  Hail  to  Joshua  !  Hail  to  the  Conqueror ! "  re- 
echoed from  cliff  to  cliff,  long  after  the  last  of  the 
troops  was  lost  to  sight.  But  more  clearly  still  did 
the  words  ring  in  his  heart  in  which  Moses  had 
thanked  him,  for  they  had  been  : — "  Verily  as  the 
Sword  of  the  Most  High,  steadfast  and  strong,  hast 
thou  fought  the  fight.  So  long  as  the  Lord  is  thy 
Helper,  and  Jehovah  our  Refuge  we  need  fear  no 
enemies  !  " 

He  fancied  he  still  could  feel  on  his  brow  and  head 
the  kiss  of  the  great  leader,  the  Man  of  God,  who 
had  clasped  him  to  his  heart  before  all  the  people  ; 
and  it  was  not  a  small  thing  to  control  the  violent 
agitation  which  disturbed  him  at  the  end  of  this  all- 
important  day. 

A  strong  desire  to  stand  clear  in  his  own  eyes, 
before  mingling  with  the  jubilant  throng,  or  meet- 
ing his  father,  to  whom  a  share  in  every  great  emo- 
tion that  stirred  his  soul  was  due,  prompted  him  to 
linger  on  the  field  of  battle.  This  was  now  a  scene 
where  gloom  and  horror  held  sway,  for  those  who 
lingered  here  beside  himself  were  detained  by  death 
or  mortal  wounds. 

The  ravens  which  had  followed  the  pilgrims  were 
soaring  above  the  bodies,  and  already  venturing  to 
settle  on  the  rich  banquet  spread  before  them.  The 


JOSHUA.  417 

scent  of  blood  had  brought  the  beasts  of  prey  out  of 
their  coverts  in  the  hills  and  rocks,  and  their  greedy 
howl  or  bark  was  to  be  heard  on  every  side. 

Then  when  darkness  followed  on  dusk,  lights  be- 
gan to  flit  about  over  the  blood-drenched  ground. 
They  guided  the  slaves  and  those  who  missed  one 
dear  to  them,  to  discriminate  between  friend  and 
foe,  the  wounded  and  the  dead ;  and  many  a  cry  of 
anguish  from  those  who  were  badly  hurt  rose  up 
amid  the  croaking  of  the  birds  of  prey  and  the  yells 
of  the  ravening  jackals  and  hyenas,  foxes  and  tiger- 
cats. 

But  Joshua  knew  the  horrors  of  a  battle-field  and 
feared  them  not.  Leaning  against  a  rock  he  saw 
the  same  stars  rise  as  had  shone  on  him  outside  his 
tent  in  the  camp  by  Tanis,  when  he  stood  divided 
against  himself,  face  to  face  with  the  hardest  decision 
in  his  life.  Since  then  a  month  only  had  gone  by, 
but  that  short  space  of  time  had  witnessed  an  in- 
credible change  in  his  whole  inner  and  outer  life. 
All  that  had  seemed  great  and  splendid  to  him  that 
night,  as  he  sat  outside  the  tent  in  which  Ephraim 
lay  in  his  fever,  all  that  he  then  deemed  worthy  of 
his  most  strenuous  effort,  now  lay  far  behind  him, 
vain  and  worthless.  He  cared  no  longer  for  the 
honors  and  dignities  with  which  the  caprice  of  the 
weak  and  arbitrary  King  of  a  strange  nation  could 
make  him  great  and  rich.  What,  to  him,  now,  was 
the  well-armed  and  disciplined  army  among  whose 
Captains  h,e  had  numbered  himself  with  such  glad 
pride  ? 
27 


418  JOSHUA. 

He  could  scarcely  believe  that  there  had  been  a 
time  when  he  had  aspired  to  nothing  higher  than  to 
command  more  and  yet  more  thousands  of  Egyptian 
soldiers,  when  his  heart  had  beat  high  at  the  pros- 
pect of  a  new  title  or  a  mark  of  honor  conferred  by 
men  whom,  for  the  most  part,  he  could  not  regard 
as  worthy  of  his  esteem.  He  had  looked  for  every- 
thing from  the  Egyptians,  for  nothing  from  his 
own  nation.  That  night  in  the  camp  he  had  thought 
with  repulsion  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  who 
were  of  his  own  blood,  as  miserable  slaves,  perishing 
in  degrading  servitude.  He  had  looked  down  in  his 
pride  even  on  the  noblest  of  them,  for  they  were  but 
herdsmen,  and  as  such  held  in  contempt  by  the 
Egyptians  whose  feelings  he  shared. 

His  own  father,  indeed,  was  an  owner  of  beasts, 
and  though  he  held  him  in  high  veneration,  this  was 
in  spite  of  his  position,  this  was  because  his  whole 
nature  commanded  respect,  because  the  vigorous  old 
man  with  his  youthful  fire  won  the  love  of  all  men 
and  above  all,  that  of  his  grateful  son.  He  had 
never  ceased  to  acknowledge  him  gladly,  but  in  all 
other  matters  he  had  striven  so  to  conduct  himself 
among  his  brethren-in-arms  that  they  should  forget 
his  origin  and  regard  him  in  all  respects  as  one  of 
themselves.  His  ancestress,  Asenath,  the  wife  of 
Joseph,  had  been  an  Egyptian,  and  of  this  he  had 
always  been  proud. 

But  now — to-night. 

Now  he  would  have  made  the  man  who  called 
him  an  Egyptian  feel  his  wrath ;  and  all  which,  at 


JOSHUA.  419 

the  last  new  moon,  he  would  have  cast  from  him  and 
hidden  away  as  though  it  were  a  disgrace,  at  this 
next  new  moon,  which  like  the  last,  rose  in  a  star- 
lit sky,  made  him  hold  his  head  high  with  pride  and 

joy- 
How  grand  a  thought  it  was  that  he  had  a  right 

to  pride  himself  on  being  what  he  was  !  "What  a 
standing  lie,  what  infinite  treason,  would  his  life  and 
doings  as  an  Egyptian  Captain  appear  to  him  now ! 
His  upright  spirit  rejoiced  in  the  consciousness  that 
this  was  an  end  to  that  unworthy  denial  and  con- 
cealment of  his  own  blood.  He  felt  with  glad  thank- 
fulness that  he  was  one  of  the  people  whom  the 
Most  High  had  chosen  before  all  others  ;  that  he 
belonged  to  a  congregation  of  whom  even  the 
humblest,  nay,  and  every  child,  lifted  up  his  hands 
in  prayer  to  the  God  whom  the  loftiest  spirits  among 
the  Egyptians  veiled  in  the  narrowest  mystery,  be- 
cause they  thought  the  common  folk  too  weak  and 
too  dull-witted  to  stand  before  his  might  and  great- 
ness, or  to  comprehend  them. 

And  this,  the  One  and  Only  God,  before  whom 
the  motley  crowd  of  Egyptian  gods  sank  into  noth- 
ingness, this  God  had  chosen  him,  the  son  of  Nun, 
out  of  the  thousands  of  the  nation,  to  be  the  leader 
and  protector  of  His  chosen  people,  and  had  given 
him  a  name  pledging  Himself  to  be  his  Helper.  To 
obey  his  God  and  to  devote  his  blood  and  life,  under 
His  guidance,  to  his  people  seemed  to  him  as  lofty 
an  aim  as  any  man  ever  kept  in  view.  His  black 
eyes  flashed  more  brightly  as  he  thought  of  it.  His 


420  JOSHUA. 

heart  seemed  too  small  for  all  the  love  with  which 
he  would  now  make  up  to  his  brethren  for  his  short- 
comings towards  them  in  former  years. 

He  had  indeed  lost  a  noble  and  lordly  woman 
whom  he  had  hoped  to  win,  and  she  was  the  wife  of 
another ;  but  this  did  not  at  all  trouble  the  happy 
enthusiasm  which  possessed  his  soul ;  he  had  ceased 
to  desire  her  for  his  own,  high  as  her  image  still 
stood  in  his  heart.  At  this  moment  he  thought  of 
her  with  calm  gratitude ;  for  as  he  confessed  to  him- 
self, his  new  life  had  begun  on  that  decisive  night 
when  Miriam  had  set  him  the  example  of  sacrificing 
everything,  even  what  she  held  dearest,  for  God  and 
the  Hebrew  people. 

In  so  far  as  the  prophetess  had  sinned  against  him 
he  had  blotted  it  all  from  his  memory,  for  he  was 
wont  to  forget  when  he  had  forgiven.  At  this 
moment  he  felt  only  how  much  he  owed  her.  Like 
some  noble  tree  uplifting  its  head  to  heaven  where 
two  hostile  countries  join  and  touch,  so  she  stood 
between  his  former  and  his  present  life  ;  and  although 
love  was  laid  in  the  grave,  still  he  and  she  could 
never  cease  to  strive  hand  in  hand  for  the  same 
end,  and  to  walk  in  the  same  way. 

He  looked  back  once  more  on  the  period  which  he 
had  just  passed  through,  and  he  could  say  to  him- 
self that  in  a  very  short  time,  and  under  his  leader- 
ship, a  crowd  of  wretched  serfs  had  become  valiant 
warriors.  They  had  already  learned  to  obey  promptly 
in  the  field  and  to  be  justly  proud  of  victory.  And 
every  new  success  must  inspire  them.  To-day, 


JOSHUA.  421 

even,  it  seemed  to  him  not  merely  desirable,  but 
perfectly  possible,  at  their  head  to  conquer  a  new 
country,  a  home  which  they  would  love  and  call 
their  own,  where  they  might  dwell  in  freedom  and 
welfare,  and  become  such  men  of  valor  as  by  good 
training,  he  hoped  to  make  them. 

Thus  among  the  horrors  of  the  battle-field  under 
the  moonless  night,  gladness  as  the  radiance  of  day 
shone  in  his  soul,  and  with  the  words  "  God  and  my 
people,"  and  a  thankful  upward  glance  at  the  starry 
vault,  he  quitted  the  corpse-strewn  valley  of  death 
with  a  triumphant  step,  as  though  he  were  marching 
over  palms  and  flowers  cast  in  his  victorious  path  by 
a  thankful  throng. 


422  JOSHUA. 


CONCLUSION. 

IN  the  camp  he  found  all  astir.  Fires  were  blaz- 
ing in  front  of  the  tents,  and  round  them  sat  joyful 
groups,  while  many  a  beast  was  slain,  either  as  a 
thank-offering  or  for  an  evening  feast.  Wherever 
Joshua  went  he  was  hailed  with  glad  acclamations ; 
but  he  failed  to  find  his  father,  for  Nun  had  accepted 
Hur's  bidding,  and  it  was  outside  his  tent  that  the 
son  embraced  the  old  man,  radiant  with  thankful 
pride.  And  the  belated  guest  was  welcomed  by 
Miriam  and  her  husband  in  a  way  which  gladdened 
his  heart.  Hur  gave  him  his  hand  with  hearty  frank- 
ness, while  she  bowed  reverently  before  him,  and 
her  eyes  beamed  with  joy  and  gratitude. 

Before  he  sat  down  Hur  led  him  aside,  ordered  a 
slave  who  had  just  slaughtered  a  calf  to  divide  it  in 
two  parts,  and  pointing  to  it  said  : 

"  You  have  done  great  things  for  the  people  and 
for  me,  son  of  Nun,  and  my  life  is  too  short  for  the 
gratitude  you  have  laid  on  me  and  on  my  wife.  If 
you  can  forget  the  bitter  words  which  troubled  our 
peace  at  Dophkah — and  you  say  you  have  forgotten 
them — let  us  henceforth  dwell  in  unity  as  brothers 
in  one  cause,  and  stand  up  for  each  other  in  joy  and 
sorrow,  in  peril  and  in  need.  The  Captaincy  hence- 


JOSHUA.  423 

forth  belongs  to  you  alone,  Joshua,  and  to  none 
other;  and  the  people  all  rejoice  thereat,  and  most 
of  all  so  do  I  and  my  wife.  And  if  you  share  my 
desire  that  we  should  henceforth  live  in  the  bonds 
of  brotherhood,  come  with  me,  and  after  the  custom 
of  our  fathers  we  will  walk  together  between  the 
two  halves  of  this  slaughtered  beast." 

And  Joshua  gladly  did  his  bidding ;  Miriam  was 
the  first  to  join  in  the  loud  approval  which  old  Nun 
began,  and  she  did  so  with  ardent  vehemence ;  for 
it  was  she  who,  after  humbling  herself  before  her 
husband,  whose  love  she  had  now  quite  won  back, 
had  suggested  to  him  to  invite  Joshua  to  this  treaty 
of  brotherhood  which  was  now  ratified.  All  this 
had  cost  her  no  pang ;  for  the  two  vows  to  which 
she  had  pledged  herself,  after  the  son  of  Nun,  whom 
she  now  was  ready  to  call  Joshua,  had  saved  her 
from  the  hand  of  the  foe,  were  about  to  be  fulfilled, 
and  she  felt  that  it  was  in  a  happy  hour  that  she  had 
made  them. 

The  feeling,  new  to  her,  that  she  was  a  woman 
even  as  other  women  are,  gave  to  her  whole  person 
a  gentleness  which  had  hitherto  been  foreign  to  her, 
and  this  won  her  the  love  of  her  husband,  whose  full 
worth  she  had  learnt  during  the  bitter  time  when  he 
had  opened  his  heart  to  her. 

At  the  very  hour  when  Hur  and  Joshua  were  seal- 
ing the  bond  of  brotherhood,  another  faithful  pair 
had  met  again  whom  sacred  duty  had  torn  asunder, 
for,  while  the  friends  were  still  enjoying  their  meal 
in  front  of  Hur's  tent,  three  persons  desired  permis- 


424  JOSHUA. 

sion  to  speak  with  Nun,  their  lord  and  master.  These 
were  the  old  freed  woman  who  had  remained  behind 
in  Tanis  with  her  grand-daughter  and  Asser,  from 
whom  Hoglah  had  parted  to  stay  with  her  feeble 
grandparents. 

Old  Eliab,  the  father,  had  soon  died,  and  then  the 
widow  and  her  grand-daughter  had  set  forth  and 
followed  their  people  through  unspeakable  fatigues, 
the  old  woman  riding  her  husband's  ass.  Nun  re- 
ceived the  faithful  souls  with  joy,  and  in  the  same 
hour  gave  Hoglah  to  Asser  to  wife.  Thus  this  blood- 
stained day  had  brought  blessing  to  many ;  and  yet 
it  was  fated  to  end  with  a  harsh  discord. 

So  long  as  the  fires  blazed  in  the  camp  there  was 
always  some  stir  going  forward,  and  throughout 
their  wanderings  hither  no  evening  had  passed  with- 
out some  quarrel  and  bloody  fray.  Wounds  and 
death  blows  had  been  the  frequent  result,  when  one 
who  had  been  insulted  revenged  himself  on  his  ad- 
versary, when  some  dishonest  rascal  had  seized  the 
property  of  another,  or  refused  to  fulfil  the  obliga- 
tions he  had  contracted. 

In  these  cases  it  had  been  a  hard  matter  to  make 
the  peace  and  bring  the  criminals  to  a  reckoning, 
for  the  refactory  refused  to  acknowledge  any  man, 
be  he  who  he  might,  as  a  judge  over  them.  Those 
who  had  fancied  themselves  injured,  banded  together 
with  others,  and  tried  to  right  themselves  by 
force. 

On  this  festive  evening,  Hur  and  his  guests  at 
first  heard  only  such  a  noise  as  every  one  was  ac- 


JOSHUA.  425 

customed  to  hear.  But  presently,  when  besides  the 
wild  uproar,  a  glare  of  light  flared  up  close  to  them, 
the  chiefs  began  to  fear  for  the  safety  of  the  camp  ; 
so  they  rose  up  to  put  an  end  to  the  turmoil,  and 
found  themselves  in  the  presence  of  a  spectacle  which 
filled  some  with  rage  and  horror,  and  others  with 
grief. 

The  triumph  of  victory  had  turned  the  heads  of 
the  multitude.  They  felt  prompted  to  give  expres- 
sion to  their  gratitude  to  God,  and  with  a  vivid  re- 
membrance of  the  horrible  worship  of  their  native 
land,  a  party  of  Phoenicians,  among  the  strangers  in 
the  camp,  had  lighted  a  great  fire  to  their  god  Moloch 
and  were  almost  in  the  act  of  flinging  an  Amalekite 
into  the  flames  as  an  offering  pleasing  in  his  eyes. 
Close  at  hand,  the  Israelites  had  set  up  a  clay  image 
of  the  Egyptian  god  Set,  which  one  of  his  Hebrew 
devotees  had  brought  with  him  as  a  charm  to  protect 
his  family,  placing  it  on  a  tall  pillar  of  wood.  Hun- 
dreds were  dancing  round  it,  and  singing  in  triumph. 
Their  worship  could  not  have  been  more  fervent,  nor 
the  rapture  of  their  souls  more  eager,  if  they  had 
desired  to  pay  the  God  of  their  fathers  the  thanks- 
giving which  was  His  due. 

Soon  after  his  return  to  the  camp,  Aaron  had  as- 
sembled the  people  to  sing  praises  and  glorify  the 
Lord  ;  but  the  need  for  seeing  an  image  of  the  god 
to  which  they  might  uplift  their  souls,  after  the 
manner  to  which  they  had  so  long  been  accustomed, 
had  proved  so  strong  in  many  of  them  that  the  mere 
sight  of  the  clay  idol  had  sufficed  to  bring  them  to 


426  JOSHUA. 

their  knees,  and  turns  their  hearts  from  the  true 
God. 

At  the  sight  of  the  worshippers  of  Moloch,  who 
had  already  bound  their  victim  ready  to  cast  him 
into  the  flames,  Joshua  was  very  wroth ;  and  when  in 
their  darkness  they  refused  to  hear  him  he  bid  the 
trumpets  sound,  and  by  the  help  of  the  young  fight- 
ing-men, who  obeyed  him  blindly,  and  to  whom  the 
strangers  were  anything  rather  than  dear,  he  drove 
them  without  bloodshed  back  to  their  own  quarters 
of  the  camp. 

The  Hebrews  yielded  to  the  urgent  exhortations 
of  old  Nun,  Hur  and  Nahshon,  and  repented  of  their 
sin,  which  was  aggravated  by  ingratitude.  But  even 
they  took  it  amiss  when  the  fiery  old  man  broke  the 
images  they  prized  so  dearly,  and  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  love  they  bore  his  son  and  grandson,  and  for 
the  honor  due  to  his  white  hairs,  many  a  hand  would 
have  been  lifted  against  him. 

Moses  had  retired  into  solitude,  as  was  his  wont 
after  such  peril  had  by  the  grace  of  the  Almighty 
come  to  a  good  issue  ;  and  the  tears  rose  to  Miriam's 
eyes  when  she  thought  of  the  grief  it  must  cause  her 
noble  brother  to  hear  the  tidings  of  such  a  falling 
away  and  such  deep  unthankfulness.  A  dark  shadow 
had  fallen  even  on  Joshua's  glad  and  confident  mood. 
He  la,y  sleepless  on  a  mat  in  his  father's  tent,  looking 
back  on  the  past.  His  warrior's  soul  was  strength- 
ened by  the  thought  that  a  single  Almighty  and  un- 
erring Power  ruled  the  universe  and  the  lives  of  men, 
and  required  unfailing  obedience  from  all  created 


JOSHUA.  427 

things ;  a  single  glance  at  the  order  of  nature 
and  of  life  showed  him  that  all  things  depended 
on  one  infinitely  great  and  mighty  Being,  and 
rose  up,  moved,  or  lay  down  to  rest  at  a  sign  from 
Him. 

To  him,  the  Captain  of  a  puny  army,  his  God  was 
the  supreme  and  wise  Captain,  the  only  Leader  who 
was  always  sure  of  victory.  How  great  was  the  sin 
of  insulting  such  a  Lord,  and  of  going  after  strange 
gods  in  return  for  His  mercies !  And  this  was  what 
the  Israelites  had  done  before  his  very  eyes ;  and  as 
he  recalled  to  his  memory  the  doings  which  had  com- 
pelled his  intervention,  the  question  arose  in  his  mind 
how  might  they  be  protected  against  the  wrath  of 
the  Most  High,  and  how  could  the  eyes  of  the  dark- 
ened multitude  be  opened  to  His  wondrous  and  soul- 
inspiring  greatness  ? 

But  he  found  no  answer  and  saw  no  remedy,  as  he 
pictured  to  himself  the  perversity  prevailing  in  the 
camp,  and  the  rebellious  spirit  which  threatened  to 
bring  evil  on  his  people. 

He  had  succeeded  in  reducing  the  fighting-men  to 
obedience.  As  soon  as  the  trumpet  sounded  and  he 
made  his  appearance  in  battle  array  at  the  head  of 
his  troops  their  stiff-necked  will  gave  way  to  his. 
"Was  there  nothing,  then,  which  in  the  peaceful 
round  of  everyday  life  could  keep  them  within  the 
bounds  which,  under  Egyptian  rule,  made  life  safe 
for  even  the  humblest  and  weakest,  and  protected 
them  against  the  high-handed  and  powerful  ?  Med- 
itating on  these  things  he  watched  till  dawn  was  near, 


428  JOSHUA. 

and  as  the  stars  began  to  set  he  sprang  up  and  bid 
the  trumpets  sound,  and  to-day  as  yesterday,  the  men 
assembled  without  a  murmur,  and  in  full  numbers. 
He  was  soon  marching  at  the  head  of  his  troops 
through  the  narrow  gorge,  and  after  they  had  gone 
forward  for  about  an  hour  in  silence  and  in  darkness, 
they  were  refreshed  by  the  cooler  air  which  precedes 
the  day.  Dawn  began  to  spread  in  the  East,  the  sky 
grew  paler,  and  the  glowing  splendors  of  sunrise 
solemnly  and  grandly  rose  above  the  majestic  mass 
of  the  Holy  Mountain.  It  lay  spread  out  before  the 
pilgrims  almost  tangibly  close  and  clear,  with  its 
brown  crags,  precipices  and  ravines ;  towering  above 
them  rose  its  snow-peaked  crown,  round  which  a  pair 
of  eagles  were  soaring,  their  broad  wings  bathed 
in  a  golden  glory  in  the  light  of  the  new-born 
day. 

And  again,  as  at  Alush,  a  pious  thrill  brought  the 
marching  host  to  a  stand-still,  while  each  one,  from 
the  first  to  the  last,  raised  his  hands  in  silent  ado- 
ration and  prayer. 

Then  the  warriors  went  on  with  hearts  uplifted, 
one  gayly  calling  to  another  in  glad  excitement  as 
some  pretty  little  brown  birds  flew  to  meet  them, 
twittering  loudly — an  assurance  that  fresh  water 
must  be  near.  Hardly  an  hour  further  on  they  saw 
the  blue-green  foliage  of  a  tamarisk-brake,  and  above 
it  tall  palms,  and  heard  at  last  the  sweetest  sound 
that  ever  falls  on  the  listening  ear  in  the  desert  >- 
the  ripple  of  a  running  stream.  This  encouraged 
them  greatly,  and  the  mighty  form  of  the  peak  of 


JOSHUA.  429 

Sinai,*  its  heaven-kissed  head  veiled  in  blue  mists, 
filled  the  souls  of  these  men,  dwellers  until  now  in 
the  level  meads  of  Goshen,  with  devout  amazement. 

They  now  proceeded  with  caution,  for  the  remnant 
of  the  stricken  Amalekites  might  be  lurking  in  am- 
bush. But  there  was  no  foe  to  be  seen  or  heard  ; 
and  the  only  traces  the  Hebrews  found  of  the  sons 
of  the  desert  and  their  thirst  for  revenge  were  their 
ruined  houses,  the  fine  palms  felled  and  prone,  and 
the  garden-ground  destroyed. 

They  were  forced  to  clear  the  slender  trunks  out 
of  their  path  that  they  might  not  check  the  advance 
of  the  Hebrew  multitude ;  and  when  this  task  was 
done  Joshua  went  down  through  a  defile  leading  to 
the  brook  in  the  valley,  and  up  the  nearest  shoulder 
of  the  mountain,  to  look  about  him,  far  and  near, 
for  the  enemy. 

The  mountain-path  led  over  masses  of  granite 
veined  with  green  diorite,  rising  steeply  till  it  ended 
high  above  the  plain  of  the  oasis,  at  a  plateau,  where, 
by  a  clear  spring,  green  shrubs  and  delicate  mountain- 
flowers  graced  the  wilderness. 

Here  he  paused  to  rest,  and  looking  round  he 
discerned  in  the  shadow  of  an  overhanging  rock  a 
tall  figure  gazing  at  the  ground. 

*  Now  callei  Serbal ;  not  the  Sinai  of  the  monks,  which,  in 
my  opinion,  was  not  supposed  to  be  the  mountain  of  the  Law- 
giving,  till  the  time  of  Justinian.  A  full  exposition  of  the 
view  that  Serbal  is  the  Sinai  of  Scripture,  which  was  first  put 
forward  by  Lepsius  and  in  which  others  writers  agree,  may 
be  found  in  a  volume  entitled  (in  German)  "  Through  Goshen 
to  Sinai,"  by  Dr.  G.  Ebers.  Leipzig,  1882.  Wilh.  Englemanu, 


430  JOSHUA. 

It  was  Moses. 

The  course  of  his  reflections  had  so  completely 
rapt  him  from  his  present  surroundings  that  he  did 
not  perceive  Joshua's  approach,  and  the  warrior 
reverently  kept  silence  for  fear  of  disturbing  the 
Man  of  God,  waiting  patiently  till  he  raised  his 
bearded  face,  and  greeted  him  with  dignity  and 
kindness.  Side  by  side  they  gazed  down  into  the 
oasis  and  the  desolate  rocky  ravines  at  their  feet. 
Even  a  tiny  strip  of  the  Bed  Sea,  which  bathes  the 
western  foot  of  the  mountain,  gleamed  like  an 
emerald  in  the  distance.  And  their  talk  wras  of  the 
people,  and  of  the  greatness  and  power  of  the  God 
who  had  brought  them  so  far  with  such  wondrous 
works  ;  and  as  they  looked  to  the  north  ward  they 
could  see  the  endless  train  of  the  pilgrims,  slowly 
making  their  way  along  the  devious'  line  of  the 
defile  towards  the  oasis. 

Then  did  Joshua  open  his  heart  to  the  Man  of 
God,  and  told  him  all  he  had  thought  and  wondered 
during  the  past  sleepless  night,  finding  no  answer. 

The  prophet  listened  to  him  with  composure,  and 
then  replied  in  a  deep  hesitating  voice  and  in  broken 
sentences : 

"  Insubordination  in  the  camp — yes ;  it  is  ruining 
the  people.  But  the  Lord  of  Might  has  left  it  in 
these  hands  to  dash  them  to  pieces.  Woe  to  those 
who  rebel.  That  Power,  as  stupendous  as  this 
mountain,  and  as  immovable  as  its  foundation  rock 
— they  must  feel  it ! " 

Here  the  angry  speech  of  Moses  ceased.     After 


JOSHUA.  431 

they  had  stood  for  a  while  looking  into  the  distance 
Joshua  broke  the  silence  by  inquiring  : 

"  And  what  is  that  Power  called  ?  " 

And  the  answer  came  clear  and  strong  from  the 
bearded  lips  of  the  Man  of  God : 

"  The  Law."  And  he  pointed  with  his  staff  to  the 
top  of  the  peak. 

Then  with  a  gesture  of  farewell  he  quitted  his 
companion. 

Joshua,  still  looking  out,  perceived  some  dark 
shadows  moving  to  and  fro  in  the  yellow  sand  of 
the  valleys.  These  were  the  remnant  of  the  Amale- 
kites  seeking  a  new  spot  where  they  might  dwell. 

For  a  short  time  he  kept  his  eye  on  them  and 
when  he  had  assured  himself  that  they  were  moving 
away  from  the  oasis,  he  returned  pensive  to  the 
valley. 

"  The  Law,"  he  repeated  to  himself  again  and 
again. 

Yes,  that  was  what  the  exiles  lacked.  Its  severity 
might  be  the  one  thingpapable  of  forming  the  tribes 
which  had  fled  from  bondage  into  a  nation  worthy 
of  the  God  who  had  chosen  them  before  all  the 
other  peoples  of  the  earth. 

Here  the  Captain's  reflections  were  broken  off, 
for  the  voices  of  men,  the  bellowing  and  bleating 
of  herds  and  flocks,  the  barking  of  dogs  and  the 
noise  of  hammers  came  up  to  him  from  the  oasis. 
The  tents  were  being  pitched — a  work  of  peace  in 
which  his  aid  was  not  needed.  He  lay  down  in  the 


432  JOSHUA. 

shade  of  a  thick  tamarisk-shrub,  above  which  a  tall 
palm  towered  proudly,  and  thankfully  stretched  his 
limbs  in  the  consciousness  that  henceforth  the  people 
would  be  amply  cared  for,  in  war  by  his  good  sword, 
in  peace  by  the  Law.  This  was  much,  this  raised 
his  hopes ; — but  no — this  could  not  be  all,  could 
not  be  the  end  of  everything.  The  longer  he  medi- 
tated, the  more  deeply  he  felt  that  this  did  not 
satisfy  him  for  the  mass  of  beings  down  there,  whom 
he  bore  in  his  heart  as  his  brethren  and  sisters. 

His  broad  brow  darkened  again,  and  startled  out 
of  his  rest  by  these  new  doubts,  he  sadly  shook  his 
head.  No,  and  again  no !  The  Law  could  not  afford 
the  people  who  had  grown  so  dear  to  him  all  he 
desired  for  them.  Something  else  was  needful  to 
make  their  future  lot  as  noble  and  fair  as  he  had 
dreamed  it  might  be,  on  his  way  to  the  mines. 

But  what  was  that  something,  what  was  its  name  ? 

And  now  he  began  to  rack  his  brain  to  find  out ; 
but  while,  with  closed  eyes,  he  allowed  his  thoughts 
to  wander  to  those  other  nations  whom  he  had  seen 
in  war  and  in  peace,  to  discover  what  was  the  one 
thing  still  lacking  to  the  Hebrew  folk,  sleep  fell  on 
him ;  and  in  a  dream  he  saw  Miriam  and  another 
lovelier  form,  resembling  Kasana  as  he  had  often 
seen  her  flying  to  meet  him,  a  pure  and  innocent 
child,  and  after  her  ran  the  white  lamb  which  his 
father  had  given  his  favorite  years  since. 

The  two  figures  each  offered  him  a  gift,  and 
bid  him  choose  one  or  the  other.  In  Miriam's  hands 
was  a  heavy  gold  plate,  and  on  the  top  of  it  in  let- 


JOSHUA.  433 

ters  of  flame  he  saw  written,  "The  Law."  She 
held  it  forth  to  him  with  gloomy  gravity.  The 
child  offered  him  a  drooping  palm  leaf,  such  as  he 
had  often  carried  in  token  of  truce. 

The  sight  of  the  table  of  the  Law  filled  him  with 
pious  awe  ;  but  the  palm  branch  waved  invitingly  in 
his  eyes,  and  he  seized  it  quickly.  Hardly  had  he 
grasped  it  when  the  figure  of  the  Prophetess  vanished 
into  the  air  like  a  mist  wafted  away  by  the  morning 
breeze.  He  gazed  in  anxious  surprise  at  the  spot 
where  she  had  stood,  amazed  and  uneasy  at  the 
strange  choice  he  had  made,  though  feeling  he  had 
decided  rightly. 

Then  he  asked  the  child  what  her  gift  might  sig- 
nify to  him  and  the  people.  At  this  she  signed  to 
him  pointing  to  the  distance,  and  spoke  three  words, 
in  a  gentle  sweet  voice  which  went  to  his  heart. 
But  strive  as  he  might  to  seize  their  meaning  he 
could  not  succeed,  and  when  he  desired  the  vision  to 
interpret  them  he  awoke  at  the  sound  of  his  own 
voice,  and  made  his  way  back  to  the  camp,  disap- 
pointed and  puzzled. 

In  later  days  he  often  sought  again  to  remember 
these  words,  but  always  in  vain. 

The  whole  force  of  his  body  and  soul  he  devoted  to 
the  Hebrew  folk;  but  his  nephew  Ephraim,  as  a 
powerful  prince  of  his  tribe,  well  worthy  of  the  honor 
he  achieved,  founded  a  house  in  Israel.  Through 
him  old  Nun  saw  great-grandchildren  growing 
up,  who  promised  enduring  posterity  to  his  noble 

race. 
28 


434  JOSHUA. 

The  rest  of  Joshua's  active  life,  and  how  he  con. 
quered  a  new  home  for  his  people  is  a  well-known 
tale. 

And  there,  in  the  Land  of  Promise,  many  hundred 
years  later,  was  another  Joshua  born,  who  brought  to 
all  mankind  gifts,  which  the  son  of  Nun  vainly 
sought  for  the  children  of  Israel.  And  the  three 
words  spoken  by  the  child,  and  which  the  Captain 
of  the  host  failed  to  interpret,  were  "  Love,  Mercy 
and  Kedemption ! " 

THE     END. 


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ger. 

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Lever. 
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gina  Maria  Roche. 
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Idle  Thoughts  of  an  Idle  Fellow. 
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